Shining Oasis in the Heart of Seething Darkness
by Inuhsien
Summary: The Oasis System ringed by perpetual warpstorms, and forgotten by the Imperium of Man. When two divisions of Space Marines, Legion II, are spit out of the Immatrium, life gets interesting. Original characters. (Glossaries in the process of being added to previously published chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Kohei paced the deck. The captain of the _Audacious_ ignored him, and the rest of the bridge crew tried to, but they were slightly unnerved by the scowling protem commander of the two stranded divisions of the Second Legion.

Tatsuhiro, recently promoted from squad sergeant to taisa, second in command of the 2nd division, glanced from his immediate superior captain Manzo to Kohei.

Kohei was a bit different compared to other Space Marines of the Second Legion. While most strove to pattern their own behaviors after their primarch, Susanno, the stoic warrior, Kohei allowed himself to display emotions freely, when he felt it would benefit his plans.

Tatsuhiro wondered who this display of anger was for.

"Daimyo?" Manzo called, interrupting the angry pacing. Kohei turned, his scowl not changing as he indicated that they were to approach with an impatient wave.

"Brothers, this is the new liaison from the Army." It was pretty clear what Kohei thought about the idea, although less so whom he was referring to, until the woman watching the Navigator in the nepilla, turned and bowed to the gathered Marine leadership. She bowed in the manner of the people of the Oasis system, a closed fist of her right hand to her left breast, the deep bow from the waist.

In a system thick with blonds and redheads, the woman was something of an exception. Her long raven hair was tightly braided and coiled into a tidy bun. Her skin was pale, like all inhabitants of Sentinel, where sunlight exposure was minimal, giving her skin almost porcelain coloring. Her eyes were the color of burnt honey, an attribute they would later learn as the side affect of the modification process of becoming a Gene Guard. On Tatsuhiro's homeworld she would have been considered a classic beauty. Here, he had learned, that was not the case.

Her uniform was a modified version of the soft body armor the Guard wore, although the white piping was less decorative and more designed to integrate a heavier carapace, should the situation dictate.

Her belt had not changed, an empty sword sheath on the left, and empty holster on the right. Her weapons had obviously been confiscated upon arrival. To lessen the sting of being disarmed, the Legion had developed a formal ritual of greeting and inviting, that included the Master at Arms to relieve the visitor of their weapons (at least until such a time that said guests were deemed safe). Tatsuhiro suddenly wished he might have seen her reaction the first time she was so disarmed. It would tell him much about her character, he believed.

She did however carry her helm, likely a wise precaution given the technological curiosity several of the MarineTechs exhibited. They were doubtlessly scanning her volter and sonic sword even as she stood there. Tatsuhiro felt a pleasant jolt of surprise - he knew her. She wasn't wearing the burgundy uniform of the Genebank Guard now. Instead the dark blue and white of the Army, graced her battlesuit, her right shoulder sporting the Army's device, the left empty, that the Legion's device might be affixed.

So, the display had been for her, Tatsuhiro realized with sudden dismay. He promptly schooled his expression. Kohei's mistrust of the Army was hardly surprising, what with the last liaison getting himself killed in that ridiculous charge against the warp beast that had attacked a cargo vessel. Nor did the presence of the avian xenos called the Kru in the ranks of Army regulars help. Even Tatsuhiro, who had significantly more contact with the Army, still found it a bit of a shock to see the xenos and humans mingling and conversing with apparent ease. Although grateful for the welcome they had received when the wounded _Audacious_ slipped free of the warp storm that dumped them at the far end of the galactic rim four years before, the battered Legion was baffled at how deliriously happy the **_Kru_** had been.

Happy humans made sense, especially in this star system completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy by raging warp storms, but the elegant Kru had celebrated their arrival with a month of dance festivals.

"Cáel of Sentinel, at your service." Her voice was the same as he remembered, but there was something infinitely sad lurking in those honey brown eyes. Kohei snorted.

"It won't be needed." He told her shortly. Tatsuhiro was appalled by his rude behavior, but dared not speak out. Not here. Not in front of all these non-Marines. Cáel didn't seem perturbed by it either, gazing back, uncowed at Kohei's glare.

"Then I shall remain here, until such a time." She replied evenly.

"Then rot there." Kohei snapped, turning on his heel and leaving the bridge. Tatsuhiro glanced at Manzo, who was sighing softly. Perhaps if the last liaison hadn't felt he had so much to prove... Manzo caught Tatsuhiro looking at him and shook his head.

"Stay. Observe." He ordered, turning to follow Kohei. The division captains had a great deal of damage control to do, and someone needed to keep an eye on their unwelcome guest.

As it was normal for there to be one or two Marines on bridge of the _Audacious_ at any given time, the regular humans who kept the spaceship running quickly fell back into their regular routine. Akira Hanaringo, the ship's captain, approached the liaison, and spoke with her in a gentle tone. Tatsuhiro strained to hear the conversation, but is was Cáel's response he heard first.

"Thank you, Captain. If there is some place I might stand that is out of the way of ship operations?"

Hanaringo pivoted, his eyes sweeping the bridge. He was a practical young man, the former first mate and nephew of the previous captain. Of all the humans aboard, he understood keenly the line he trod between his crew and the Legion.

Standing her next to his post was out of the question, as was putting her anywhere near the different crew positions. There were plenty of out of the way places to stow her, but he strongly supported the idea of a liaison, if only to force the Legion into greater cooperation with a planetary system that had been delighted with their arrival.

No, he needed a place where the Daimyo could not pretend she didn't exist.

His eyes alighted on Tatsuhiro, standing on the upper deck with a full view of the bridge. Let the mettle of the liaison and the Legion be tested by this, he decided.

"There is an excellent spot on the upper deck, if you don't mind standing beside a Marine." He suggested. Cáel was already halfway across the deck, before he finished his comment. Hanaringo blinked, then permitted himself a small smile.

Tatsuhiro watched as she approached, salute him, and without waiting for a reply, pull on her helmet before falling in next to him at parade rest.

Tatsuhiro felt torn. She hadn't spoken to him, so, in the absence of permission to be casual with her, he had no excuse to speak to her. At the same time, he had a multitude of questions for her. Why was she there? When they had last spoken three years prior she was standing before an inquiry board in regards to the attack on Sentinel's genebank.

He wondered about the outcome of the trial, particularly the one investigator who had suggested the attack was somehow Cáel's fault. Was that why she was the liaison now? Or had a Guard been sent because the last liaison, being a normal human, had no understanding of the transhuman mind?

They stood there, Tatsuhiro wondering, Cáel unmoving for the next three hours, until Manzo recalled him, and another Marine took his position.

* * *

"She just stood there?" Manzo queried, when Tatsuhiro reported to him.

"Yes, sir. She did appear to be following the activities of the crew with some interest." Tatsuhiro added, for she had watched the comings and goings.

"Probably learning the bridge." Manzo commented. 'Learning the bridge' was expected of each Marine sent to stand a watch. While not the most exciting of tasks, it gave the Marine an opportunity to learn how and what to expect on the bridge, and when to notice if something was off. It had saved the human crew during the last transit through the immatrium, although it had come at the price of a MarineTech and the ship's original Navigator.

"What are we to do about her?" Tatsuhiro asked. Manzo glanced at him, surprised by the question.

"Nothing."

* * *

As the hours wore into days, the human crew began referring to her as 'the statue'. At some point on the third day she lowered her visor, and transhuman eyes noted the faintest luminescent scrawl betraying a datafeed being engaged.

"Does she never sleep?" Kenji, one of Tatsuhiro's men asked him, reporting back from his own turn at bridge duty. The younger Marine was quite positive she hadn't moved at all in the eight hours he stood watch.

"She is a Gene Guard." Tatsuhiro replied, remembering his own past encounters with her. "She may have a catalepsian node."

"They do that to women on this planet?" Kenji looked baffled, causing Tatsuhiro to smile faintly.

"This isn't the Mitsu system. Women are expected to participate in this system's defense."

Kenji tilted his head.

"Do you think she underwent gene modification?" He asked. Tatsuhiro started to laugh, then caught himself, his expression growing thoughtful.

* * *

"They call us the Guard of Last Hope, in Krun." Cáel told the three Marines standing in her operations control room. Sentinel's gene bank was buried in the heart of the planet's Arctic mountain range, and previously thought to be fortified against aerial bombardment.

Leave it to a marauding band of orcs to prove that theory wrong.

The Marines had gotten the call seventy-two hours before. Tatsuhiro's squad was dropped fifty-seven hours ago. They had only gained entrance to the gene bank in the past hour. The captain of Sentinel's seriously depleted Guard took a deep breath.

"So let me say this as someone modded to fight anything that crawls out of the Warp. I am beyond glad to see you."

* * *

"I think there's a real chance of it." Tatsuhiro allowed. Kenji laughed.

"The Daimyo is in for a surprise then."

"Oh?" Tatsuhiro raised an eyebrow at the youth. Kenji grinned.

"It's been twelve days, Taisa. Which of the two of them is the more stubborn, do you wager?"

Tatsuhiro knew the proper answer was to defer to Kohei, but...

* * *

Tatsuhiro fell backwards, knocked down by the three orcs that had tackled him. Over the vox he could hear Hikaru shout profanities as he and Daisuke were similarly ambushed. Pinned down he struggled ineffectively to throw the brutes off of him as another hulking monster almost the size of a Marine lumbered over and raise the power sword over him. Tatsuhiro brace himself for the stroke as a banshee wail screamed through the din of battle. The sword and the arm fell, but not to deliver the death blow. Instead the arm separated from the orc's body, and the orc staring at it stupefied, before the pain hit. Howling in pain the orc wheeled about, only to have his head tumble off, the high pitched wail of the Guard's sonic sword all that was left of the attack that fell the beast. The orcs holding down Tatsuhiro scrambled away as the corpse began to fall, and Tatsuhiro rolled to the side to avoid being crushed.

Leaping through the arterial spray, Cáel set her sword to the back of the neck of the orc holding Daisuke's left arm. The sword screamed, shredding the armor protecting it's neck, and a second head joined the first. Still moving she ran up on the orc trying to pull off Hikaru's helmet, slicing through those unarmored forearms with little more than a whisper of effort from the sonic blade.

All of this, she accomplished before Tatsuhiro regained his feet. The three orcs that had tackled Tatsuhiro threw themselves at Cáel, and in the unforgiving tight quarters of the basalt carved tunnels, she was forced to engage them.

The closest one met the same fate as its leader, the second losing a leg, but managing to catch hold of the sword and wretched it free of her grasp. The third orc slammed into her from her blindside, crushing her against the wall. Despite herself, she let out a shriek of pain as the brute deliberately broke her sword arm.

Tatsuhiro raised his bolter at the orc holding her against the wall, and it's head disintegrated into a green mist. Daisuke, with his arm free, punched through the head of the orc holding his other arm, and kicking the remaining orc off of him. Tatsuhiro fired two more rounds, freeing Hikaru of his encumbrances as the handless orc and the one kicked off fled down the tunnel. Daisuke helped Hikaru stand as Tatsuhiro checked on Cáel.

"It's broken. We will escort you back to the control room." He said.

"It'll heal." She shrugged, and fiddled with something on her injured arm, causing the arm of the battlesuit to stiffen unnaturally.

"It will heal wrong like that." He warned, wishing to give her one last chance to back out. Behind them, Hikaru and Daisuke went around and made sure the orcs stayed dead.

She flipped her visor up, and stared challengingly at him.

"Have I told you how to do your job since you arrived here?"

"No."

"Then kindly return the favor."

Tatsuhiro lifted his visor, matching her challenging gaze with his own, probing how determined she was, then, after a long moment nodded.

The arm still wasn't fully healed when, seventeen hours later the last orc was put down, but not once did Cáel even so much as hint at the discomfort she was undoubtedly feeling.

* * *

"I cannot rightfully say. " Tatsuhiro admitted. "But having fought along side both of them, I should not care to wager against either."

Kenji laughed again and Tatsuhiro released the humorous young Marine to his own recognizance, his own mind made up on the matter. The next time he was on the bridge, he would speak to her.

It was nine more days before he got that opportunity, but when he and the others in command were called to the bridge, they had more important things on their minds.

"Distress call. Merchant vessel, by the name of ' _Farthest Shore'._ They report having picked up an extra passenger while passing through the asteroid belt, it's disabled their realspace drive and forced them into an escape capsule." Hanaringo explained, showing them on the hololithic projector their location in reference to the damaged vessel.

"Play the message." Kohei requested in his brisk manner, his eyes on the blinking green light indicating their position. A series of panicked whistles and clicks played back.

"What was that gibberish?" Kohei demanded.

"The distress call." Hanaringo replied mildly. He had doubted himself when it first broke across the ether, but a helpful translation had appeared on his dataslate.

"Since when did you learn to understand that, that- tweeting?" The Daimyo scowled at the captain.

"I haven't. But we have a native speaker aboard, and I took advantage of her expertise." Hanaringo kept his tone even, and looked past the Marine to the statue still Guard standing on the upper deck. Kohei turned, and from the deepening scowl it was clear he had forgotten entirely about her.

"How long have you been up there?" He snapped at Cáel. She raised her visor, and transhuman eyes noted a distinctive wasting around her face.

"Since fourteen hundred hours," she paused, then as Kohei was drawing a breath, added, "one and twenty days ago."

* * *

Taisa: Legion II word for lieutenant.

Genebank Guard: In the Oasis system these women are the elite warriors who guard the gene banks where citizens go to receive medical care for conception, or to correct any genetic damage in naturally conceived children.

Kru: An avian alien race very distantly related to the Kroot

xenos: short for xeno form, meaning alien

Daimyo: commander of the Second Legion forces trapped in the Oasis system


	2. Chapter 2

Kohei glanced at his commanders. "Has she been here the entire time?" He appeared more exasperated than angry. When Manzo and Tatsuhiro nodded, his scowl lessened.

"Join us." He told her tersely, and she did, moving with the same speed that Tatsuhiro had observed in the past. She did bow to Kohei, and he stiffly acknowledged with a dip of his head.

"What do we know about the vessel?" He asked no one in particular.

"The _Farthest Shore_ is a Cummulus class high altitude reentry freighter. She was commissioned sixty years ago and has been plying her trade between Auk and Typhun. Her current cargo is several gross tons of noble gases, and her crew numbers four people and the ship's armadillo." Cáel reported.

"Ship's armadillo?" The Marines all looked at her, expressions ranging from bemused to baffled.

"It's a safeguard practice against salvage claims. If the crew has to abandon ship, the armadillo stays, and because its legally considered a member of the crew the ship isn't claimable in a salvage dispute." She explained.

"Why armadillos? Why not the birds the Kru are so fond of?" Shinta, Tatsuhiro's counterpart in the 1st division, asked.

"Birds are fragile. They can't withstand radical pressure changes or low oxygen environments. Armadillos are much sturdier in comparison, and those bred for ship life generate their own oxygen." Cáel replied.

"Enough about pets." Kohei grumbled. "Why did they travel through the asteroid belt?"

"It's the shortest route right now. In two months Auk would have swung far enough around that a route above the plane of orbit would have been more practical." Kohei glanced at the captain, who nodded, confirming the information.

"You seem to know a great deal about space commerce." It was less a veiled accusation and more an outright one.

"My parents ran a mining trawler in the inner asteroid belt. I cut my teeth on the ship's NavCon. Shipping I know." Cáel's even response seemed to satisfy Kohei, although he continued to frown.

"Have we managed to reach the crew?" He asked Hanaringo.

The captain shook his head. "We are still trying to establish contact. Currently the distress call is on repeat."

"So there maybe nothing left but something needing to be killed. " Manzo murmured.

"Is there a schematic of the ship available?" Roka, the 1st division's captain asked.

"Yes." Hanaringo shrunk the holo of the ships paths and pulled up a 3 dimensional layout of a freighter.

"Why is the bridge and crew quarters switched?" Shinta asked, peering at the diagram.

"That's a normal layout to Cummuluses." Cáel pointed to a spot directly behind the crew quarters. "This is where the escape pods are located. Cargo is carried in exterior cradles, so unprotected crew movement is limited to the forward section of the ship."

"What is the make up of the crew?" Kohei asked.

"Captain, pilot, mechanic, and cook," Cáel replied, pulling up the roster.

"I mean are there any xenos on board." Kohei clarified with a growl. Cáel locked eyes with him, through the hololithic projection.

"If you mean Kru, then yes. It is the practice of long haul freighters to be made of mixed companies; men, women, children, human and Kru alike," she said with deliberate care, her stare intense.

"And this crew?" Kohei refused to break the held stare.

"I'm not certain," she dropped her eyes first, ceding the staring match to him as she read the roster. "The names are all registered in Krun. These two," she pointed to the captain and pilot, "are common Kru names. These two are less so, but some humans earn their Kru names in childhood."

"Is that normal?" Manzo asked. "For humans to take Kru names?"

"Most of us have them. If you stay in system long enough, you'll earn one." Cáel indicated Tatsuhiro with a tilt of her head. "He's already received one."

Tatsuhiro recoiled slightly, startled.

"When did-"

"Later." Kohei snapped. "Where is the internal access to the realspace drives?"

The rest of the briefing went smoother, details of what the Marines could anticipate in the interior of the freighter, and likely problems they could expect to encounter.

Size, it turned out was less a problem than at first assumed. Kru designed ships had plenty of head room, given the size difference between Kru and humans, which Tatsuhiro was quietly grateful for. The rescue mission on Sentinel had been fought largely hunched over. It hadn't ultimately effected the outcome, but it was massively inconvenient at the time.

Kohei eventually called an end to the meeting.

"Manzo, choose a squad to go. Roka find a place for the Colonel. Tatsuhiro, with me." Cáel was led off by Roka and Tatsuhiro followed Kohei to the upper deck.

"You were at the Gene bank, Brother." It wasn't really a question. Tatsuhiro nodded. "Can she fight?" Colonel O'Doolle had claimed to be able to fight and got his arms ripped off by a warpspawn. Too bad he bled out before he could learn from his mistake.

"Yes."

"How would you rate her ability?"

"Her style utilizes her speed over force, but she is a very proficient fighter."

"Proficient enough that you are comfortable sending her along with the boarding party?"

Tatsuhiro hesitated.

"If she were to accept the Sergeant's orders, yes."

"You believe she might not?" Kohei raised an eyebrow at him.

"She is used to being command of her own troops and she has not trained with us, so I am uncertain." Tatsuhiro freely admitted. Kohei nodded.

"We need someone well versed in bird-speak. She is the obvious choice," Kohei grumbled.

Tatsuhiro reflected for a moment. "It was a while back, but we have fought together. I would not object to working with her again."

"That is acceptable to me. Let Manzo know you are to escort her until such a time as we can properly assess her abilities." Kohei dismissed him with a nod.

* * *

Cáel apparently was briefed about what was expected of her, for when Tatsuhiro saw her next it was in the back of the squad formation, at attention.

Following Tatsuhiro, carrying her sword and volter, was the Weapons' Master. Cáel faced them as they approached. The Weapons' Master bowed to her, and held her weapons out to her, pommel and grip first. Cáel bowed in response, again in Oasian style, taking first the volter, and holstering it, then her sword, which she used to salute the Weapons' Master, before sheathing it. This pleased Tatsuhiro, as the final salute was by no means a common gesture by visitors, least of all warriors, who lived and died by their weapons. That she then thanked the Weapons' Master for taking such good care of them further raised her in his estimation. The last liaison made a point of ignoring the Weapons' Master, taking the ritual as an intentional snub.

The Weapons' Master left, and Tatsuhiro fell in next to her, giving Haru a nod.

"I'm sorry," she sighed at him.

"What for?"

"For having you assigned to watch me."

"Escort. And I volunteered." He replied. They both watched as Haru took his oath of the moment, silent. Kohei had written this particular order, even at the back of the squad Tatsuhiro recognized the grasswriting style of the Daimyo's calligraphy. Dakho, one of the centurions, read the missive.

"Are you, Haru, prepared for this duty? To lead your men, regardless of the danger, to save what can be saved and crush all opposition? Do you promise to bring honor and glory to Susanno and the Emperor?" Dakho asked in a solemn tone, the paper he was reading off of, draped over the pommel of Haru's chainsword.

"On my weapon and on my honor, I shall do so." Haru replied in the same tone, then stood still as his centurion affixed the strip of paper to his armor.

"Then I apologize for putting you in the situation that resulted in you feeling you had to," Cáel continued, as if there hadn't been a break in the conversation.

"Would you rather I hadn't?"

"No, I'm dead grateful for a familiar face. I worried I managed to offend your Daimyo when explaining things." She admitted.

"Kohei may sound gruff, but he is a fair leader."

"He is a difficult man to read. Honestly, you all are," she confessed. Like most of the humans of Oasis Cáel wore her emotions openly. It would have been considered an appalling breech of decorum on his homeworld, and in the ranks of the Second Legion, to express emotions so openly to strangers. Tatsuhiro glanced at her, gauging her reaction.

"You are not an easy person to read, either, Colonel. One would not know you suffered such sadness if one had not known what signs to look for. "

"And what might those be?" The look she gave him was more startled than sharp.

"Your eyes, when you smile it does not lift them."

Cáel pursued her lips, thinking.

"I shall practice smiling more." She flashed him a half-hearted attempt as Haru gave the order to board the shuttle.

* * *

The transfer from the _Audacious_ to the freighter occurred by way of rapid deploy shuttle. Cáel, strapped into an Astarte sized seat, with her feet sticking out before her looked even more child-like, and Tatsuhiro fought to ignore that observation.

"Colonel..."

"Yes, Taisa?"

"You mentioned in the briefing that I had been given a Kru name. May I inquire as to the circumstances under which that came about?"

Cáel nodded.

"After the battle of the Bank, one of the taifeadta secured vid of you crushing an orc with a power fist. It was received as an impressive move."

Tatsuhiro frowned, trying to remember the particular blow, given that he delivered many such blows in the long battle.

"And what form of moniker did they give me?"

She responded with a series of whistles and clicks, indifferent, in his mind from birdsong.

"Does it mean anything?"

"Yes."

Tatsuhiro stared at her, waiting.

"Prefers Blunt Force Trauma. " She was, he realized, trying not to laugh.

"Is that the normal sort of moniker a human might expect?"

"As a soldier?" She nodded. "Yes. Kru names tend to be given about attributes others find noteworthy."

"Do you have a Kru moniker?"

"Of course." For the first time in days, the smile reached her eyes.

"And it is?"

"Criticizes Technicians Loudly."

* * *

The _Farthest Shore_ still had some power, despite its compromised engine. Gravity worked although the atmosphere was dangerously thin, as if it had slowly bled off while the ship slipped into standby mode. Haru's squad entered through the docking airlock, greeted by dim lights.

"Colonel, we have a body."

"Thank you, sergeant." Cáel waited until the airlock and entrance was deemed safe to move in and check on the body, although Tatsuhiro noted her drumming her fingers on the pommel of her sword. He smiled to himself, the expression safely hidden behind his visor. He liked impatience tempered with discipline in his soldiers. It showed a good balance of caution and eagerness.

The Marines had carefully avoided stepping on the desiccated body, and Cáel knelt to study the ex-Kru, running the image before her through several filters in her visor as she did so.

" _Audacious_ , can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Colonel." Tatsuhiro recognized the voice of the first mate.

"I'm sending over a live feed of my findings. Please record and beam them back to the parent company."

"Yes Colonel."

"First subject, Kru female, found in the airlock. Cause of death unknown, but it likely wasn't helped by the week of exposure to hard vacuum. I'm collect a feather sample for the Geners to identify. The body will be left in situ until the Farthest Shore can be reclaimed and the remains repatriated."

There was a soft click as she closed the feed.

"Is that the normal practice?" Tatsuhiro asked, as she pulled a slender tube out of her belt pouch.

"Yes. The families hate it, but it's a quarantine measure. The last thing you want to do is infect your own crew with something the Splicers have never seen." She gently pulled a dull blue feather free, and slipped it into the tube, twisting it shut on either end. The metal fused, sealing the feather away completely.

"I am not familiar with the term Splicers." He offered her his hand.

"They are Geners tasked with manipulating genes to fight disease." She accepted, letting him pull her upright.

"Common area cleared. We are dividing into groups of three to clear the cabins." Haru announced.

"Shall we?" Cáel indicated the common area with the tilt of her head.

"When you are ready." Tatsuhiro went ahead of her one hand on his bolter despite the all clear.

The common area should have been a great deal darker than it was, but the interior bulkhead was bright from the light cast by hololithic projectors. Cáel stopped in front of one, staring at the vectored paths nestled in the system charts.

"Sergeant, did you power up the holos when you entered?" She asked into the vox.

"No, ma'am. They were already on."

Tatsuhiro's sharp ears heard that faint click as the feed was engaged.

" _Audacious_ , do you hear me?"

"Yes Colonel."

"Record this feed and send it to the Army, priority theta. This is Colonel Cáel of Sentinel. On the derelict," here she switched to Krun, giving the ship's name and designation in it's original tongue, "we have discovered three hololiths, all system charts, all with courses charted to take advantage of slingshot maneuvers around Brontornis. I am sending images of each one. Please advise." She walked from holo to holo recording each image, before ending the feed.

Tatsuhiro stood aside, watching.

"What is Brontornis?"

"Planet. We don't know much about it, other than it's orbit is entirely within the warpstorm. Before the Deluge it was seen in the heavens every vernal equinox. It vanishing from the sky was part of the impetus for settling Sentinel. We were afraid the warpstorm was expanding."

She studied the last holo longest.

"If we're being honest, we still are." It was a half whisper, as if spoken more to herself than to him.

"Colonel, we found another body. Captain's quarters." Haru interrupted.

"Thank you."  
She turned and followed Tatsuhiro to the cabin in question. The room was tidy, expect for the pool of blood that seeped out of the clothing locker.

" _Audacious_ , continue recording for the parent company."

"Yes, Colonel." Tatsuhiro frowned faintly - that was Hanaringo's voice.

"Human male, fairly young or recently juvianted. Dead by evisceration. Scan of cellular degradation suggests roughly a week since death. You might want to suggest the family go with a closed casket option." She didn't see any point in mentioning the tortured expression the man had died wearing. She scraped up a sample of blood in a second tube, sealing it and placing it in the pouch with the other one.

"Alright, gentlemen. That's two. We have three more bodies to account for."

"We've found a body on the bridge, Colonel." The vox reported.

"On my way, thank you." With Tatsuhiro in the lead, they filed out. In the thin atmosphere Tatsuhiro only just caught Cáel's portion of the dialog between Cáel and the _Audacious_.

"Yes, this is she." Pause, then, "no sir, none of that information popped during the research... no. No... what?" At this point the conversation devolved in a series of whistles. Cáel stopped in her tracks, and Tatsuhiro waited for her. When she finally returned to Gothic, it was only to acknowledge orders. "Yes, sir."

"Is everything in order, Colonel?" Tatsuhiro queried casually, as she resumed walking. She evidently forgot that she left her external speaker on.

"No. But nothing about this derelict is what it seems." She replied, sounding slightly irritated.

"Something we should know?" He pushed, since subtlety wasn't working. He heard her sigh.

"This isn't the crew of the _Farthest Shore._ She was stolen from dock a month ago." They were stopped by a Marine from entering the bridge.

"With all due respect Colonel, I should warn you that it is gruesome in here." Yuma said. Yuma was one of the recruits from the Mitsu system, and inclined to protect what he viewed as a lady's delicate sensibilities. Tatsuhiro didn't say anything, because he knew somethings could only be learned through experience.

"Thank you, youngster, but I'm ready for anything." She replied with a pat on his forearm as she deftly slipped past him leaving him barring Tatsuhiro's passage.

"Youngster?" Yuma gave Tatsuhiro a baffled look, hurrying to step aside.

"Colonel..." Tatsuhiro called, feeling slighted.

"Gentlemen, a moment of your time, please." Cáel spoke into the vox. "I have just received a change in my orders. This is no longer a rescue mission. There is an unknown number of persons aboard. If alive, we are to take them into custody. If dead, I need to record how they are found. Keep alert. This ship has spent considerable time within the warpstorm."

* * *

Terms to know

grasswriting: a style of calligraphy

geners: technicians who deal with DNA

splicers: geners who deal specifically with disease


	3. Chapter 3

"Understood, Colonel." Haru replied for his squad.

Cáel turned her attention to the body splayed out over the captain's chair.

" _Audacious_ , the is Colonel Cáel."

"Carry on, Colonel." Hanaringo again, Tatsuhiro noted with a frown. They must have stumbled on something big if the captain of the _Audacious_ was monitoring the feed.

"Body located on the bridge, human male, mid forties, never juvianted. Died by... exsaunguination." Blood loss was an understatement. It looked as if the man's heart had exploded out of his chest, and sprayed the navigation screens with all of his blood. "Cellular degradation suggests he's only been dead a few days. His hand is on the relay control, I'm shifting it to turn off the distress call."

"Understood, Colonel."

Cáel reached over and moved the hand just enough to punch the relay button off. She then scrapped a bit of erupted flesh into a tube, to be added to the others in her pouch.

"Have you scanned the bridge for void spaces?" She asked the Marines.

"Yes ma'am. None were located."

"Really? Ceiling seems low compared to the rest of the ship."

"It is, by a half meter." Yuma offered. Cáel frowned, and unsheathed her sword.

"Allow me." Tatsuhiro reached up and peeled back a panel, one he had noticed was offset, as she put away her sword. Strange purplish metal gleaned dully in the dim light.

"Moons above." Cáel murmured, as Tatsuhiro rapidly calculated the potential volume.

"Gentlemen, could I trouble you to remove all of those tiles?"

"Yes Colonel." The Marines quickly striped the bridge of it's ceiling tiles, revealing more of the strange metal, crammed in from bulkhead to bulkhead.

"What is it?" Tatsuhiro asked, not recognizing it.

"Warpsteel. And it's already formed..." the perplexion in her tone was hard to miss.

"Colonel Cáel to _Audacious_?"

The vox didn't respond.

" _Audacious_? Can you hear me?" Cáel tried again. When she got no response Tatsuhiro also tried, to no avail.

"Squad, report." Tatsuhiro ordered.

"Haru here, with Souta, Jeon and Insu."

"Goro, Shin and Hyo reporting, Taisa."

"Kaede, Jun and Yuma are here." Tatsuhiro confirmed. "Shuttle, report."

"Jae here, Taisa. I am also unable to raise the _Audacious_." The shuttle pilot replied over the vox. Cáel looked at Tatsuhiro.

"Communications are being suppressed." She hazarded.

"Agreed. Pilot, continue trying. " Tatsuhiro ordered, considering.

"Are we in a trap, Taisa?" Haru asked via vox.

"If we are, they will find they trapped tigers while hunting turtles." Tatsuhiro checked his weapons out of habit. "Proceed with the mission, Sergeant. Something is abroad if we're being suppressed. Let's make it regret attracting our attention."

"Yes, Taisa."

Tatsuhiro glanced back at Cáel, who was pacing the length of the bridge, recording their find via her helmet functions.

"Colonel."

"Yes, Taisa?"

"I am unfamiliar with warpsteel. What are it's uses?"

"Mostly in spacecraft, although realistically it can be used in anything a pysker can think of." She hopped up on the back of the captain's chair, carefully avoiding the body and working a piece of metal free. "It's more versatile than plasteel, and its the only substance we've found that doesn't suffer storm rot." Piece secured she jumped down, and shared her prize with him. It was a square plate with a bolt and nut made of the same material.

"This is definitely one of ours." She noted.

"Meaning?"

"There is only a very small number of ships lost to the storm, even fewer with this much warpsteel. High Command will be able to tell us which one it's from."

She slipped the piece into her pouch.

"Do you have a likely ship in mind?"

"Yes, but it's not a ship, I think it's a sta-"

"Colonel, Taisa, you really need to see this. Ship's galley." Hyo interrupted, sounding slightly perturbed to Tatsuhiro.

"On our way."

The galley, one deck below, was laid out much like the common room, open space with counters and cabinets lining the bulkheads. Feathers and blood covered the deck and counters, the disarticulated remains of several Kru strewn about. In the center of the galley was a strange structure made from slats of warpsteel. The slats had been piled teepee style around a huddled form - the remains of a human child.

If Cáel swore, none if the Marines heard it, as she scanned the room. "Colonel Cáel, private recording. Remains of two- no, three Kru, two males and a female, located in the galley. Cause of death, dismemberment." She made a slow rotation of the room. "Cellular degradation suggests death occurred a week ago." She went over to each severed head and retrieved a feather to add to her tubes, before turning her attention to the structure.

"There is a tented like structure in the center, it's made of warpsteel. In the center is the body of a human child. I am unable to ascertain cause of death without removing the warpsteel." She recorded the structure with the same care as she had the rest of the galley, before sitting on her knees to disassemble it.

She worked methodically, eschewing help as the Marines stood by, guarding her and the galley. Then, as she got to the last few slats, she jerked back as the body moved, knocking the last slats over.

Tatsuhiro grabbed her by the back of her suit dragging her backwards, bolter drawn as something shook free of the child's arms.

"Hold your fire!" Cáel shouted, flat on her back, from under him, as he stood over her to shield her with his body. A scaly snout appeared and two large teardrop shaped ears flicked this way and that as shiny black eyes regarded them sleepily.

"What is it?" Yuma asked, as all the Marines trained their weapons on it, and the creature unfurled entirely.

"That, gentlemen is the ship's armadillo, and we _really_ need it alive." The creature made a soft reedy noise, clambering over to her. Cáel sat up, then moved over to it, letting it sniff her fingers before cautiously stroking it's head. The delighted beast let out a happy whistle, and crawled into her arms.

"You poor thing." She murmured to the armadillo, just barely audible in the thin air. "Colonel Cáel, private recording. Ship's armadillo has been found alive. Apparently it was sheltering with the dead child. It seems to be in good health, although..." she pinched a fold of skin, "its showing early signs of dehydration."

She looked up at the Marines.

"Would one of you be so kind as to put the jeffy in a sink and let it drink it's fill?"

Jun reached down and took the armadillo from her, taking it over to the sink. The creature let out a sad sound, then perked up when Jun cued up the water.

"Thank you, for the timely rescue," Cáel turned for a second to Tatsuhiro, then knelt back down, recording.

"Human child, male, young, four, maybe five summers at oldest, body just coming out of rigor mortis, so dead only in last two days." She carefully turned his small head and opened one eye.

"Taisa," she looked up sharply, "he's a psyker."

"How can you tell?" Tatsuhiro asked, kneeling for a better look. She tilted the child's head, and showed him the lifeless eyes.

"We lock the psyker genes with lavender irises. The gene reverts to blue when passed onto children missing any part of the pysker sequence." She explained.

"Would the child be old enough to control his powers?" Tatsuhiro was on a platform when a pysker went mad, and had dismembered several technicians with his powers before Tatsuhiro mercifully ended his life.

"He can't be older than five summers. Pysker powers don't come on full until puberty. At this age, even if he was a very strong pysker, the most he'd be able to do is sense the Warp."

"Perhaps that's why he is here? To act as the ship's Navigator?" Tatsuhiro suggested.

"That's tantamount to child abuse, but, if they were desperate enough to salvage warpsteel from inside the storm, I'm disinclined to think they would balk at exposing an unprepared child to the Warp," she sighed.

"Colonel Cáel, private recording, unknown male child carries signs of being pysker gened. Cause of death, suffocation, due to loss of atmosphere. " She recorded those purple eyes and blue lips before gently laying the child back down, and took out another tube.

"Such a waste." She plucked a few blond hairs from his head and placed them inside the tube, before it also went in the pouch. Standing she offered Tatsuhiro her hand. He rewarded her with a chuckle.

"I'll avail myself of your shoulder instead." He told her, and did just that, even though he didn't really need her assistance in standing. Four years in system had taught him a lot about the natives, the warrior culture in particular required an able fighter to offer the same courtesy they had once received from another. She bore the weight of the armored hand without so much as a grunt, then glanced over at Jun, and the armadillo wallowing in the steady stream of warm water.

"Let's get our friend back to the shuttle." She recommended, collecting the wet animal from the sink.

"We aren't done clearing the ship," Tatsuhiro reminded her.

"I know. But I do not wish to meet whatever did this," she gestured to the scattered remains around them, "while carrying this," she explained, rubbing the armadillo under it's chin, to it's great pleasure.

"Will it be alright, left to its own devices, in the shuttle?" Tatsuhiro suffered a moment of doubt about Oasian priorities.

"It should. Once we put it back in an oxygen rich environment it'll most likely sleep until it adjusts to the oxygen differential." She explained, strolling to the exit. Tatsuhiro grabbed her by the shoulder before she crossed the threshold.

"Please, Colonel, grant _me_ the courtesy to do my job." He reprimanded her quietly, and she dipped her head in acknowledgement.

"With apologies." Her tone was sincere as she side stepped, allowing him to lead the way.

"Would you like one of us to escorting you?" Yuma asked.

"Carry on the search, youngster," Cáel replied, her tone teasing, "yon Taisa is more than enough to babysit me."

"Escort, please," Tatsuhiro response was for Cáel's ears only, as he laughed softly.

* * *

Passage back to the shuttle lead back through the common room, when Tatsuhiro stopped suddenly, hand out, blocking the way.

"Colonel, did you turn off the holos?"

"No."

"Squad, did anyone touch the holos in the common room?"

"No, Taisa." "None of my men did." "No."

"Pilot Jae, have you been monitoring the freighter's energy output?" Cáel queried.

"Yes, Colonel."

"Has there been a change in its status?"

"No, Colonel."

"Are there any teams left on Deck 1?" Tatsuhiro asked into the vox, staring warily into the darkened room.

"We're clearing the escape pods on Deck 1." Haru replied.

"Meet us at the common room."

Behind Tatsuhiro, Cáel watched the way they had come, her volter drawn.

"Taisa."

"Yes Colonel?"

"I think I know what we are up against."

"Fear-beast?"

"You knew?" Cáel sounded surprised.

"Each body found, with the exception of the boy, looked terrified, and he was safe only because he was surrounded by something that keeps the warp creatures at bay, your incorruptible warpsteel. You mentioned that ship armadillos generate their own oxygen - the boy obviously hoped it would be enough when he clung to Jeffy rather than leave the safety of the warpsteel shelter." Tatsuhiro summarized.

"Yes, er, except jeffy isn't the name of the armadillo, it's slang for armadillo."

"How does one derive jeffy from armadillo?"

"One doesn't. There's a popular children's series about best friends living on a salvage trawler that travels the system with their loyal ship's armadillo, named Jeffy. Young children have trouble pronouncing the word armadillo, whereas jeffy is so much easier, so it's more or less crept into the pathos."

"Interesting."

"Taisa, we're here." The lights from their helmets lit up the passage to the crew quarters.

"Are you ready?" Tatsuhiro asked Cáel quietly.

"Born ready."

Not many people would willingly walk into an ambush. Even fewer would do so eagerly. Tatsuhiro took a measure of savage joy in knowing his 'ward' was eager to engage even with one arm encumbered.

* * *

Glossary

Daimyo: commander of the Second Legion forces trapped in the Oasis system

Genebank Guard, Guard: the transhuman/transkru women given the responsibility of safeguarding the genetic future of their various planets.

Kru: local xeno race, avian based, distantly related to the Kroot.

Krun: language of the Kru

Taisa: rank between captain and centurion

Taifeadta: in system name for the people who report on news

Auk: ice world planet in Oasis system

Dodo: primary planet in Oasis system

Sentinel: military planet in the Oasis system

Jeffy: slang term for armadillo

Warpsteel: in system name for wraithbone

* * *

Please feel free to correct anything I get wrong, be it in canon information, or simple grammar and spelling. Even if you want to critique my writing, I love feedback.


	4. Chapter 4

The moment they stepped through the hatch into the common room, the armadillo curled up tightly, and refused to relax. Cáel tightened her grip on the creature and her volter. Their visors were useless here, as centuries of experience taught the Oasians the hard lesson that nothing warp spawned registered with technology, and in the absence of a trained psyker, they had only their senses to rely on. For that reason, the group entering the common room had their audio cranked up and helmet lights bright.

Knowing one was walking into a trap did not make it any less surprising when the trap was sprung, Tatsuhiro noted with vague distress as Haru slammed with enough force into the bulkhead that the whole ship shuttered. Light filled the room as Cáel fired - instead of bolts, her weapon fired crackling balls of lightning, volts, in Oasian parlance, and in the fraction of a second that the whole room was illuminated the six transhumans took in what they were facing - not some amorphous darkness, but a bulbous round single eyed creature with inky tentacles each of which ended in a mouth full of gnashing teeth. By what means it kept afloat was anyone's guess, but that same force had put Haru through the hull of the ship.

Cáel's shot was too low, or perhaps the creature anticipated it, for shrieked and hurled itself at her.

The Marines opened fire.

* * *

Haru's right arm and shoulder burned with cold, while the rest of him broiled. Dazed and hurting every time he even thought to move he remained where he was, trying to remember what happened. He coughed, wincing, and tasted blood and felt his stomach churn at the queasy sensation of pulverized muscles knitting back together. Pain made constellations of stars dance before his eyes and he blinked fiercely, trying to focus beyond his shattered visor. He could just make out a slender form slashing something that reached for him, something dark and gaping mouths of glittering teeth. Confused he flashed back to another time, another attack, back in his long past childhood, when he had been chased by a pack of dogs. In his confusion, he assumed the person defending him was the same that had held the pack at bay while he regained his feet. "Imoto?" He whispered shakily.

"Sarge! Get up!" Jeon shouted at him, switching to his chainsword to slice him free of the gnawing tentacles burrowing into Haru's armor. Rattled back to reality Haru bucked and writhed, only to realize he was well and truly wedged, and with no weapon in hand to fend off the creature's attacks.

"Get up Haru!" Tatsuhiro ordered, ignoring queries from the vox, from the Marines below deck, wanting to know if assistance was needed or desired.

"I-I'm stuck!" Haru shouted, frustrated by his seeming helplessness.

"Then evac!" It was hard to tell who suggested as much, it sounded like several voices overlaying each other, or maybe that was just the ringing in his ears.

"I can't! Safety thinks I'm in hard vacuum!" He slammed his fist uselessly against the override. Another voice cut through the din on the vox.

"Sergeant, brace yourself!" Ball lighting flared twice, and slammed into Haru's armor. Tatsuhiro heard a grunt of pain, then nothing, as the electrical system blew on the power suit. With a scream only dimly heard in the thin atmosphere Haru forced open the top half of his suit, snatched up his chainsword from where it had fallen at his feet, and proceeding to join the fray armored strictly from the waist down.

By this point all the Marines had changed over to their swords, the close quarters being too tight for more bolter action, particularly around an enemy this fast. A banshee wail cut through the battle, and Tatsuhiro watched Cáel plunge her sword through one tentacle into the deck, then turn her sword off, pinning the creature. The warpbeast spun, pointing it's milky eye at her, and Cáel was sent flying backwards into Jeon. Both of them slammed into the opposite bulkhead.

Haru leapt and brought his sword down on the top of the beast while Tatsuhiro and Souta ran it through from the sides. Insu administered the final coup de gras blasting a bolt at point blank range into the milky white eye.

It took far too long to kill, in Tatsuhiro's mind, as he pulled Cáel's sword free from the deck, and turned to return it to her. She was gingerly standing up, with some assistance from Jeon.

"Thank you." Her voice sounded pained, as she reached for her blade, and he held it just out of reach, staring at her through his visor.

"Terra, Luna and Sol!" She huffed at him. "You are not pulling this chauvinistic bullshittery now!" Her exasperation had her stand up straight and hold out her hand for her weapon.

"You were not suppose to get hurt."

"I'm not supposed to get dead. My sword, please." The last was all but spit out.

"Do not put yourself in unnecessary danger, please." Tatsuhiro's please was much politer, as he handed her back the sword. "Where is the jeffy?"

"Airlock. Seemed safest." She pointed to the small ball tucked away in the sealed off airlock. "Can we please put it in the shuttle before we have to kill anything else?"

"Pilot, permission to board."

The airlock opened as Cáel retrieved the armadillo, and gently carried it back to her seat. For one moment Tatsuhiro considered closing the hatch behind her, then decided he didn't want to explain why the airlock had been carved out.

"Does it bite, Colonel?" The pilot asked, faintly anxious from the cockpit.

"Only if you put your fingers near it's teeth." Cáel deadpanned.

"Avoid putting your fingers near it's teeth, pilot." Tatsuhiro advised sagely, as Cáel returned to the airlock.

"Yes Taisa." The pilot's reply floated from the vox, as the airlock shut.

"You are in a fey mood." Tatsuhiro opted for the blunt conversation starter.

"I have just spent one and twenty days of enforced stillness, and am being criticized for doing my job. Fey does not begin to cover how I'm feeling." She grumbled.

Tatsuhiro stopped and faced her.

"Colonel," Cáel tensed up slightly, but from the slight hunch in her stance he sensed she felt whatever he was about to say was going to be a dressing down.

"Taisa, I'm-"

"Thank you, Colonel, for helping Haru." Oasians were proud people, and justifiably so. To have lived and thrived despite their long separation from the Imperium, to have befriend a xeno race that now _eagerly_ proclaimed the Emperor as their ruler, and to survive, against all odds, against the threat of endless warpstorm was a feat worthy of recognition. Tatsuhiro understood as much as what she was saying as what she _wasn't_ saying. "But I fear I should warn you, that you have likely earned the ire of the Armorer."

Her stance softened slightly and though distorted by their visors he could see a weak smile on her face.

"Alas, he is neither the first one I have so irritated, nor likely the last." Some of her old cheekiness returned in her response.

"Kohei does not count," Tatsuhiro continued solemnly. "He's annoyed at the galaxy on principle."

Her throaty laugh caught him off guard. "Ach, the Kru are going to have fun coming up with a name for him."

* * *

Haru opted to leave the top half of his suit where it was until the mission was completed, so as to not deprive the ship of its remaining atmosphere, (and force him to spend the rest of the mission in the shuttle). Tatsuhiro said nothing either way when Haru announced his intention - this was Haru's mission, and he was not going to dishonor him by suggesting he couldn't handle it. Another human was found, or rather, what was left of her. The decaying head was found in the still warm engine room of deck three - Cáel gathered a bit of cheek flesh for her vial, shaking her own head. The room was optimal for an attack, but none had been forthcoming.

"Is it possible that fear-beast was the only one aboard?" Goro asked as the Marines discussed it.

"Unless we have suddenly regained communication with the _Audacious_ , I am disinclined to think so." Haru replied, speaking into Insu's vox.

The words were barely out of his mouth, when the deck shook the concussion from a barrage of bolter fire.

"Squad, report!"

"Kaede's down Sarge- our bolters aren't stopping it!" Jun replied, then grunted, as if struck by something.

"Jun's down, Sarge, there's two of them, we could really use some help in here-" Yuma called, and Tatsuhiro turned in time to see Cáel vanish down a ladder.

"Colonel! I swear I will lock you in Haru's suit if I have to come and get you." He growled on a private channel, running for the freight lift the Marines were using to move between decks.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment, please threaten me later." She retorted on the same channel.

Deck six was the last deck and supposed to be completely empty, although when they got there, Tatsuhiro could see it was anything but. Piled in disorderly heaps were mountains of salvaged metal - but noticeably none of it was warpsteel.

The creatures were fast, and large, made up of many segments like the millipedes of the equatorial islands of Tatsuhiro's homeworld, but their legs were furred and ended in reptilian claws. Their heads were almost equine, although those many toothed jaws could open up wide enough to swallow a Marine whole. Cáel was running up a wall, her magboots engaged, and leapt wide, striking sideways, cleaving one of the creatures' skulls in half and exposing it's brain. She emptied her volter into the creature's brain.

The warp beast exploded in cooked flesh and boiling ichor, raining bits all over the storeroom.

"Terra, there's more!" Jeon gasped, as two more emerged out of the scrape piles.

"You saw how the Colonel did it, let's go!" Haru shouted, leading the charge.

Cáel landed on a junk pile, then slipped, sliding to the deck, her boots coated in the jelly that had been eggs the moment before. All three beasts turned as one, and darted for Cáel's scrape pile.

"If you have frag grenades, now's the time to use them!" Cáel cried, scrambling backwards. "This pile is full of eggs!"

* * *

Terms to know

imoto: Mitsu system word for 'little sister'

magboots: boots with powerful magnets in them for walk about in microgravity

* * *

Please feel free to send me spelling corrections or indicate if I've messed up in universe information.


	5. Chapter 5

The Marines gave chase, swords biting and tearing onto the retreating backs of the monsters. Each monster paused and turned. The one Tatsuhiro chased lunged at him, but turned a the last second in a serpentine sort of motion, knocking him aside. He only staid upright because he engaged his magboots at the last possible second. Instinctively he thrust his sword sideways, and the blade bit deeply, spraying him with ichor. The creature reared back, then, in what could only be a calculated move, _shed_ the irretrievably injured segments, like a lizard dropping it's tail, before swinging back around with lighting speed and attempting to bite him.

A bolt slammed into the side of its head deflect the bite, but not killing the monster. Tatsuhiro spared just enough time to nod his thanks at Haru.

"Colonel, Jun has some incendiary grenades on his belt." The vox crackled.

Cáel, reloading her volt charge, now that the attacking beasts had other targets, smiled predatorially.

"On my way, Senshi. Thank you." Back on her feet she seemed to vanish in a blur of transhuman speed. Tatsuhiro, trying to carve a hole in the snapping beast's side, lost sight of her entirely.

Kaede sat propped up against the bulkhead. His right leg draped over Jun's unconscious form, his left truncated just above the knee where the monster bit through his armor and severed his leg. The blood loss had stopped, and he could feel the the flesh stitching together, but he was still terribly light-headed and it first when Cáel appeared next to him, he mistook her for figment of his imagination. To be sure, he poked her with his bolter, and was slight dismayed to meet resistance. Cáel made eye contact with him and gently pushed the muzzle of the bolter away.

"Are you stable, Senshi?"

"Yes, ma'am. The bleeding stopped awhile ago."

"What about Jun?"

Belatedly, Kaede remembered that Cáel wasn't locked into the squad's HUD system.

"Alive. Burning up with fever. I think his bite was poisoned."

Cáel nodded as she reached down and unclipped the grenades off of Jun's belt.

"Most warpbeasts have some kind of venom. Fever is good though. Means his body is fighting it. Can I get you anything?"

Kaede shifted uncomfortably, knowing what he wanted and needed were two very different things.

"I'm running low on ammo-" he was wielding both his and Jun's bolter, one in each hand.

"Take this, I just changed it's charge," she placed her volter in his lap.

"What about you, Colonel?" He asked.

"This'll do me." She hefted his chainsword, testing it weight. "Keep Jun safe. I'll keep an eye on you." And she was gone.

"But who's watching you, ma'am?" Kaede murmured to himself.

The lift opened and the remaining Marines joined the fight.

"Focus on their heads and use your swords," Haru ordered, shouting into Jeon's vox. "They drop their tails if you injure their backsides."

"And they get a lot faster," Yuma warned, hacking into a momentarily exposed belly. The split segment ruptured ichor and gastric juiced and half digested body parts of human and Kru alike, forcing Yuma to hurry aside to avoid getting splashed with the stuff.

"Fire in the hole, gentlemen!" Cáel's shout was almost too late, as the three largest scrap heaps exploded in flames. Several Marines, not prepared, were knocked backwards. Despite Jeon's bulk being mostly between Haru and the flaming scrap, shrapnel burned into his left side and he swore colorfully at the her. Jeon, thankfully, was not close enough for any of it to be picked up by the vox.

The monsters screamed, more felt through their boots than actually heard, and from the scrap not firebombed hundreds of little monsters scuttled out to attack. Cáel danced through rain of metal and burnt eggs, spearing and slashing the smaller monsters as they attacked.

Haru grabbed Jeon and pulled him in closer.

"Colonel, would you-" Haru self-censored before the words escaped, " _kindly_ coordinate your attacks with us?!" He shouted.

"With utmost apologies, Sergeant."

She could at least try to sound repentant, Haru thought, scowling.

"Where would you like me?" The seething mass of smaller monsters spread out, going after all of them. Bolter fire worked well against the smaller creatures, as did stepping on them, when the Marines moved quickly enough.

"Right next to me." Tatsuhiro growled, finally decapitating his truncated monster, and dispatching the still snapping jaws by burying his sword through the top of its head.

"Yes, Taisa." And suddenly she was there, spinning into a defensive position, both swords at the ready. On a private channel she asked, "you aren't about to suggest I return to the shuttle, are you?"

"No. If I were to do that you would undoubtedly find something even bigger and nastier to fight," Tatsuhiro retorted, striding forward to help Yuma. Cáel paced him, slaying several smaller monsters in the process. Her chuckle bubbled up from the vox.

"See, that's why I like you Marines, always the optimists."

* * *

Kaede exhausted his bolter, then picked the volter. He questioned if he was still hallucinating when he read the number of remaining volts - surely Oasian tech wasn't _that_ advanced, was it? A flood of smaller warpbeasts scurried towards him and he took aim. The volt took out the closest creature, and everything else in a 5 meter radius. Kaede blinked and slowly smiled. There had been rumors that the Oasians developed superior weapons against warpspawn - Kaede wondered if the marine techs had gotten the specs off the volter yet, and, as he fired again, this time protecting Goro from a blindside attack, adapted one for their use. He was going to have to ask to be allowed to test it.

Across the room Tatsuhiro was making note of another Oasian technology. Although he had seen Cáel wielding her sword in the past, this was the first time against warpspawn, and in such ideal conditions for comparison.

The chainsword ripped and tore into the beasts armorlike exoskeletons often leaving a spasming leg or segment behind that lingered, solid for many minutes afterwards. The sonic sword boiled through the warpspawns bodies, dismembered limbs slowly evaporating as they fell, and disintegrating entirely much quicker. It was almost as if the sonic sword disrupted the very essence of the beasts. Cáel managed both swords with apparent ease, one handed, but she must have recognized the difference as well, because she used the sonic sword strictly as an offensive weapon, and the chainsword almost as a shield against teeth and claws.

She was also enjoying herself, if the look of feral glee was any indication. There was a curious grace to her fighting style, in many ways it looked as if she was dancing her path of destruction along side of him. Tatsuhiro frowned, bothered by that. It was familiar for some reason, but not in a manner that bode well. He shoved the thought away for later examination.

"Taisa, Jun!" Turning his head he could see a larger creature flowing towards the downed Marines. Cáel's shout had been as much a warning as a request.

"Go." He told her curtly, and grabbed the tail of the monster he was fighting. It was a risky move, but it slowed the monster down just enough for Yuma and Shin to attack and separate the creature's head from its body.

Hyo and Souta also turned to help, but Cáel got there first, standing between the Marines and the monster. The beast opened its maw wide to swallow her whole.

"Colonel, drop!"

Cáel went flat as Kaede pulled the trigger and held it for a count of three. The warpspawn's head exploded in a shower of cooked viscera.

"Good shooting, Senshi."

"Thank you for the opening, Colonel."

* * *

"Taisa? I have restored communication with the _Audcious_." The pilot's voice pulled Tatsuhiro out of his combat reverie.

"Good. Inform them of our situation. "

"Which is, sir?"

Tatsuhiro looked around. The majority of the warpspawn was dead and evaporating, the last few being hunted down and eliminated by the latecomers. Yuma and Haru were consulting with Kaede, as Cáel helped Insu turn Jun over.

"Mop up of a severe infestation of warpspawn. Medical attention will be required. Ask the Daimyo for a secure channel."

"Yes, Taisa."

* * *

 ** _Thank you for reading!_**

 ** _If you notice any spelling or in universe mistakes, or just want to give me some feedback, feel free to contact me._**


	6. Chapter 6

The trip back to the _Audacious_ was a little more relaxed than the trip out. Even though Haru belted in next to Jun and kept a wary eye on his external health readout, the rest of the Marines were in good spirits. Cáel gently teased Yuma about his youth after he artlessly remarked that her strapped in holding the armadillo made her look like a toddler compared to them.

She had apologized, sincerely this time, to Haru, once the danger was past, and promised to be more thoughtful in her actions in the future. Haru, graciously, accepted the apology and even commented to Tatsuhiro in passing that he found it hard to hold a grudge about it, since she was essentially fighting blind, while they were aware of each other's presence.

Tatsuhiro found himself uncertain about how he felt - she ignored his orders, a major sin, but technically she outranked him and fell under a different chain of command. She had, after determining Kaede and Jun's relative safety, returned to his side and staid there, until he released her to help return the injured to the shuttle. He was glad they hadn't lost anyone - Kaede admitted the loss of his leg was stupidity on his part, he'd gotten too far ahead of Jun and Yuma. Jun ended up getting bit trying to pull him away from the monster.

Tatsuhiro was curious about one thing.

"Colonel."

"Yes Tasia?"

"How would you have handled this expedition, had this been an Army operation?"

Cáel leaned back slightly, stroking the ship's armadillo with an ungloved hand.

"Well, I probably wouldn't have been called in until the first rescue mission had been slaughtered," she conceded. All conversation in the shuttle ceased, as the Marines listened to the unvarnished assessment. "Then a special forces troop, that's usually twenty-five soldiers, all modded, but not nearly on par with the Guard, would have taken the ship back level by level. Had there been significant losses in the first level, a retreat would have been called, and the ship destroyed from a distance." Something in her expression turned troubled, and the armadillo moved about in her lap as if sensing the change in her mood.

"This bothers you. Why?"

She threw him a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but like others, it didn't reach her eyes.  
"It's probably unwarranted. I suffer from a suspicious mind."

"Suspicious about what?" Tatsuhiro prodded. Cáel sighed softly. "Please understand this is just me speculating," she warned, "but I cannot help but ask myself, if High Command mightn't have wanted you to destroy the _Farthest Shore._ "

"Is there a reason you would think that?"

"Yes," she nodded slowly. "The theft of the vessel should have shown up in my research, as I was tapped into the Army's intel pool. But it didn't. Nor was it reported in the neosphere, which tells me the information is being deliberately suppressed."

"And who would have the authority to suppress it?" Tatsuhiro asked.

Cáel's amber eyes locked with his steel ones.

"That is precisely what I should like to know."

* * *

"Colonel, what are your plans with that creature?" Kaede asked from his seat in the front, during the final decent.

"Return this little fellow to his crew. They'll be thrilled to have him back." The armadillo whistled sleepily, and kicked one hind leg as she scratched it behind one ear. Insu chuckled softly. "I thought you said they weren't pets. This one acts like a dog."

"What's a dog?" Cáel asked, as the shuttle landed with the softest of bumps. As Insu tried to describe a canine, the airlock opened and the medical team boarded. Jun and Kaede were hurried off first, then the rest of the squad began to unbuckle from their seats.

"So they howl like mice?" Whatever Insu might have said was interrupt by a blinding light of a picter flash and a bubbly voice spoke.

"Hi, I'm Moya O'Henry, taifeadta for the-" the rest of the introduction was lost in the sound of bodies hitting the deck.

The armadillo whistled sadly, suddenly alone in the seat Cáel had occupied the moment before. Tatsuhiro blinked and looked at Haru, who looked equally dumbstruck - neither of them had even heard Cáel unbuckle, let alone see her move out the airlock.

"She still has her weapons, Taisa." Haru found his voice first. Tatsuhiro sighed exasperatedly, and stood, striding over to the entrance and looking down.

The taifeadta was laying face down on the deck, Cáel sitting on her back, and in the process of gutting her picter.

"You know the rules, O'Henry. I've only told you a dozen times. No picters, no interviews until command has briefed returning soldiers. Yet every single time you insist on ignoring them." She crushed the picter in her hands until all that was left was mangled metal and plastics.

"I was invited! Damnit Cáel, I'm allowed to be here-!"

"What is going on?" Tatsuhiro demanded, stepping out of the shuttle. Cáel stood up, lifting Moya up by her collar and off the deck entirely with her transhuman strength.

"Taisa. Allow me to introduce the nosiest taifeadta this side of the system. Moya O'Henry, this is Taisa Tatsuhiro, of the Emperor's Wrath. Do not irritate him. The Kru call him Prefers Blunt Force Trauma with good cause." Cáel stated matter-a-factly.

"Hello, sir. I'm the embedded taifeadta from the Daily Interplanetary," Moya shamelessly smiled up at Tatsuhiro and offered her hand to shake.

"They don't shake hands, O'Henry. Do your research." Cáel grumbled.

"They don't? With apologies, Taisa. Cáel, put me down so I can bow." Moya's smile turned apologetic.

"How about I put you in the brig?" Cáel suggested dryly.

"Don't be like that, Cáel. I haven't done anything yet." Moya pouted, craning her neck to to look Cáel in the face.

"It is the 'yet' part that is of concern to me," Tatsuhiro rumbled. It was a tone of voice his Marines knew meant information had better be forthcomthing posthaste. "What are your intentions, taifeadta O'Henry?"

"Please, call me Moya. And seriously, Cáel, put me down." Cáel looked at Tatsuhiro, who nodded, and lowered the taifeadta to the deck. Moya straightened her jumpsuit, a common choice of clothing among the cilivian members aboard the _Audacious_ , then formally bowed.

"I am honored to be here as your taifeadta on the scene to report the goings on of the Legion Segundius to our vast readership at the Daily Interplanetary. With my colleagues we are to record and share your heroic efforts on Oasis's behalf. And," she caught sight of Haru's damaged armor, being unloaded, "hopefully facilitate a better understanding of the Astartes lifestyle to unaugmented humans and kru."

Cáel placed a tight hand on the redhead's shoulder before she could go haring after the armorers.

"So, you are a propogandist." Tatsuhiro stated flatly, clearly not taken in by her feminine wiles. Moya looked back at him, offended.

"I am no such thing! I'm a taifeadta. My duty is to the truth-"

"As you see it. Go back to the lower decks, O'Henry. You're not supposed to be here anyways." Cáel ordered. Moya shot her a dirty look.

"This isn't an Army barge, Cáel. You have no authority over me here." Moya retorted, bordering on rude.

"The Colonel is correct, taifeadta. It is unsafe for you to remain on the landing deck. Go back, and I will see to it you are allowed to speak with any Marine who wishes to speak to you, _after_ the post mission brief."

Moya turned a dazzling smile to Tatsuhiro and bowed again, before hurrying after the armorers.

"Is she going to be a problem, Cáel of Sentinel?" He asked the former Guard. Cáel snorted.

"I'd lay credits on it. But she likes you, so she'll write glowingly about the Legion."

"What makes you so sure?"

Cáel grinned knowingly.

"I've read her articles. She's a proponent of letting men join the Guard, or she was until your ship showed up."

* * *

Terms to Know

taifeadta: reporters


	7. Chapter 7

"So High Command told you to go pound sand?"

Cáel's question caused all six Marines to start. Kohei had called Haru and Tatsuhiro in with the other line officers to discuss what had transpired on the _Farthest Shore_ , and the _Audacious_. After Haru's report Tatsuhiro had given his own, before requesting to know what occurred during their absence. Cáel had been detained waiting for the arrival of the Weapons Master, something that was likely a calculated action on Kohei's part.

"Where did you come from?" Roka demanded, scandalized that none of them heard her join them.

"The lift." She indicated the elevator in question with a tilt of her head at the open doorway. "Did High Command really refuse to share intel with you?"

"How long have you been here?" Manzo asked, and Cáel took a step back, belatedly aware that all of them had their hands on one weapon or another. She herself was armed only with a sleepy armadillo.

"I entered right when the Taisa was telling you about my sonic sword. And I agree, it is superior to your chainswords against warpspawn, but lacks against other xenoforms. I'm rather hoping your Smiths will have some ideas on how to make my sword more robust." She tried to cover her nervousness with conversation, but they all saw through it.

"And exactly how, did you know to find us here?" Kohei's question was soft, with a quality of steel to it. The Marines stared at Cáel, for this wasn't just a question, but a sword of a very different mettle, hanging over her head.

"I asked the Marine standing on the bridge. He suggested this deck, and from the lift I followed your scent." Neither her tone nor her stance were belligerent, but she didn't cower either. Tatsuhiro admired the testicular fortitude she displayed, but watched Kohei's response, as that would decide the action they would take.

"You expect me to believe you tracked me, on scent alone?"

"No, I expect you to believe that I tracked Haru and Tatsuhiro by scent. That you were all together was happy coincidence, unless... you are saying you cannot do the same?" Cáel asked innocently.

Kohei's eyes narrowed - while it wasn't a secret that they had extraordinary abilities as transhumans, he wasn't about to concede any ability to her knowledge.

"You know what we can do."

"Actually, I don't."

Tatsuhiro got a sense of resolution from her, as if now was the time to lay all her cards down.

"I know what has been reported by the Army, and I know what modifications I've undergone. I'm assuming you have some extras I don't have, given that your mods are bases off of your primarch, whereas mine were meticulously crafted for one task - to protect the genebanks against the worst the warpstorm has thrown at us." She stated simply. "I also know the Army made my personnel file available to you, which puts you in the enviable position of knowing what I can do, and what you can do, while I at best I'm only guessing." Her golden eyes never wavered from his.

This time the staring match did not end in a question, but took on a new intensity.

"And how do they smell?" Kohei all but growled.

Tatsuhiro looked to Manzo, who acknowledged with the tiniest nod of his head. With the kind of silence only a transhuman could produce he and Shinta moved to encircle the much shorter liaison. Kohei had not yet indicated he trusted her answer, so there was still a real possibility that taking her into custody would be required. Of the group of them, only he and Haru knew how fast she could move, when she wanted to. He was determined not to be taken by surprise again.

"You all have very similar scents, but Haru is saltier, like brackish water in a coastal marsh. Tatsuhiro is muskier, like the forest floor after a rainfall. That said, your armor hides it surprisingly well behind the warm clay of the ceramite."

Haru glanced at Manzo, his division captain for confirmation. Tatsuhiro was watching Cáel, and so missed the flash of startled acknowledgement. She wasn't bluffing, then.

"So you can scent. What else can you do, _Colonel?_ " The way he said her title it was almost like a slur.

"I can fight, which I am sure you have already discussed," they had, but it was before she had arrived, if they believed her. "I have a natural form of low light vision, visual acuity, I can hear your Marines moving behind me, my sense of touch is such that I can count the number of people on the other side of the doorway, eleven, should you care to check, I can lift 100 times my physical weight, leap 10 times my height, and sleep standing up." Cáel neither blinked nor looked away as she spoke.

"You are also unusually fast." Haru interjected. Kohei and Cáel both broke the stare to look at the robed Marine.

"Define unusually." Kohei demanded.

"I suspect he means I'm faster than a babbling taifeadta." Cáel down played her speed, causing Haru to shake his head.

"No, your speed is worthy of note." Tatsuhiro placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place as he noted her shifting her weight forward on her feet. She stiffened.

"So am I still under suspicion, or may I continue my duties as your liaison?" Cáel wasn't a fool, and recognized some of what as going on.

Kohei frowned at her, and for a moment Tatsuhiro feared Cáel's blunt nature shoved the balance in favor of Kohei expelling her from the ship.

"Consider this your probation, Colonel. And no, your High Command did not see fit to share any information with us. Perhaps you would care to?" It was a trap, and Cáel blithely waltzed right into it.

"My information is yours, Daimyo. What can I tell you?"

As if Cáel could say anything else.

"Why was that ship in the warpstorm to begin with?"

"I'm speculating, but with the number of bodies found and the type of cargo they were hauling, I'm going with illegal salvage."

"Why?"

"There's a goodly amount of credits to be made in salvage, especially if you bypass the permit system."

"What's in the warpstorm that's worth the risk?"

"Warpsteel. There's a finite amount left on Dodo, it's more cost effective to strip it from derelicts."

"How much does it cost to get salvage permits for inside the warpstorm?"

"Nothing. No one in their right mind would issue such a permit."

"So how did they know what to look for?"

Here Cáel hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second.

"We know they're out there. A simple perusal of our history would net you a half dozen derelicts worth their weight in warpsteel to go hunting."

"And which of these half dozen did they find?"

"I'm speculating again, but I believe they found Moa Station." The name meant nothing to the Marines.

"What's special about Moa Station?"

"It's constructed entirely from warpsteel. It was our first off world military base, and ultimately used for the purpose of settling Sentinel."

"How did it end up in the warpstorm?"

"No one knows. That's what makes it so legendary, it just vanished one day, taking a quarter of the system's defenses with. Now and then, like some fain thing from the Age of Strife, it appears at the edge of the storm, then vanishes again from the sensors."

"So why would High Command withhold this information?" Kohei crossed his arms, but his frown was lessened.

Cáel sighed.

"Because of me. Even though I answer to them now, I'm still Guard. When Moa Station was operational, the Guard and military shared the station. After it vanished, there was a... falling out of sorts, between the Guard and the military. Afterwards, the Ennobled strictly delineated our duties, and the Guard became settlement bound, while the Army was relegated to it's orbital bases and fleet. High Command won't share any information they have on Moa Station simply because they want the station for themselves. And as stupid as this sounds, they are still hoping to recover the station and return it to the Fleet."

"Without Guard interference?"

She nodded.

"You said this was speculation. How can you be sure?" Roka asked.

"I recovered a piece of warpsteel while we were out of contact. If you have a psyker on board, they could confirm if it came from Moa."

Kohei furrowed his brow.

"And what will you do with that information, should you learn it comes from this mythic station?"

"I will inform both the Army and the Guard." There was a callous sort of honesty in her response that the others could see Kohei approved of.

"Tatsuhiro, direct the Colonel to the Librarian." Tatsuhiro nodded, his hand still on her shoulder.

"And Cáel of Sentinel, I expect to be kept informed." Kohei added.

Tatsuhiro finally removed his hand from her shoulder and Cáel bowed.

"Yes, Daimyo."

* * *

"Colonel," Tatsuhiro lead Cáel away from the group, down the long corridor of the Marines' private use deck.

"Yes Taisa?"

"Don't ever do that again."

"Do what, Taisa?" She looked up at him, faintly puzzled.

"Sneak up on us like that."

Cáel stopped and faced him, scowling.

" _That's_ what that was about? You lot honestly didn't notice when I walked in?" Her displeasure was so genuine Tatsuhiro questioned why he had thought she had tried to spy on them.

"No, I certainly did not know you were there until you spoke. And had I known, I would have asked you to describe your sword's functions more thoroughly." He too stopped, meeting her gaze.

"Rings above. And all this time I thought Kohei was deliberately ignoring me." Her expression relaxed in to a sort of annoyed acceptance. She returned to his side, and kept easy pace with him when he resumed walking. "My apologies. I was not trying to sneak up on anyone."

* * *

The Librarian was, according to the roster, taking his turn in the training cages, so Tatsuhiro lead her to the training gallery. Cáel's eyes lit up upon seeing the training cages, and only decades of discipline kept her by Tatsuhiro's side.

"What do you call these? Training cages?"

Tatsuhiro could see her undisguised desire. Bemused, he directed her over to an empty one.

"We use these to better our skills between skirmishes."

"I _wish_ we had these." She sighed, looking longingly at the cage.

"You don't have training cages?" Tatsuhiro raised an eyebrow at her.

"No. Barring our jaunt out to the _Farthest Shore_ I haven't had a decent workout in months. Special forces are modded, but I need another Guard if I want a sparring partner who actually challenges me." She shook her head.

"I'll show you how to operate these, once we're finished with this task." Tatsuhiro promised, and waved her away, catching sight of the Librarian.

"I'm holding you to that," Cáel cheerfully told him.

"This is Yoshi." Tatsuhiro pointed out a Marine hanging his sword back up on the training galley bulkhead. The Librarian turned and greeted them with a head bob as they approached. Cáel greeted him with an Oasian bow, then stripped her glove off and offered her hand to him, palm up. Both Marines gave her a puzzled look.

"You don't have this tradition?"

"No. What does it mean?" Tatsuhiro shook his head.

"We know that psykers can read your thoughts more deeply through skin contact, so, when you greet a pysker with a work request, it's considered courtesy to offer them a chance to deep read your intention, so they can tell you if they are the appropriate person for the job." Cáel explained.

"And your people are comfortable with this tradition?" Yoshi asked, looking startled.

"Why wouldn't we be? Psykers are our children too."

"It is my experience that many people are afraid of dark secrets being rooted out by psykers," Yoshi explained.

Cáel arched an eyebrow.

"We also teach our children manners. And expect the same in return. But if it makes you uncomfortable," she started to put her glove back on.

"No, please Colonel," Yoshi smiled faintly, pulling off his own gauntlet, "I am honored to be considered worthy of such a custom."

Yoshi put two fingers on the palm of Cáel's hand. Tatsuhiro watched with great interest, as he had never been to a system where the psyker population was so great and so integrated that people casually invited them into their minds.

Yoshi's eyes grew distant, as he accessed Cáel's mind. He saw what she was asking for, what she needed him to do. His dark brown eyes met her amber ones and he gave her a quizzical look.

"Are you a psyker?"

"No."

"But you've had training?"

"All Guards get some training. We fight the Warp."

"I'm impressed, then." Yoshi withdrew his hand. "Yes, I can do what you are asking."

"Good," she transferred the armadillo to her other arm, and fished the square out of her pouch. She held it out to him, her honey hued eyes closely watching his face as he took it from her.

Yoshi took the metal, then a shiver went down his back and he paled. Blinking he handed back the square and met her gaze.

"Your assumptions are correct. All of them."

"All of them..?" Cáel looked disheartened.

"Especially that one." Yoshi read the thought with a sympathetic look. Cáel sighed.

"Alright. Thank you, for everything." She bowed again and he tilted his head at her, clearly catching a stray thought.

"It didn't hurt that much, Colonel. Please, don't be afraid to avail yourself of my services for that reason."

Cáel gave his a sad sort of smile, and slowly nodded her head. Then she looked at Tatsuhiro.

"Do you think I would find Kohei where we left him?"

* * *

xenoform: alien


	8. Chapter 8

As much as Tatsuhiro wanted to stay and talk with Yoshi in Cáel's absence, he dared not have her walking up on Kohei unnoticed again. He caught Yoshi's eye, and the Librarian nodded, receiving the unspoken request. Kohei would want to hear his impressions of her, as well as a more full account of the warpsteel. Cáel might expect manners from psykers, but that didn't mean Yoshi felt any compunction about abusing the access she had given him.

Tatsuhiro wondered if Cáel was counting on that, as they walked back in silence. She didn't say anything, her mind clearly elsewhere, periodically patting the armadillo on the head when the sleepy beast stirred.

Kohei was eventually found on the bridge, in discussions with Hanaringo and several of the noncom officers. Tatsuhiro heard the word 'warpsteel' used once, but they all quieted when Cáel suddenly coughed. Tatsuhiro glanced down at her.

"Sorry. Dry throat."

Tatsuhiro very much doubted that.

With the same fearlessness she displayed earlier Cáel marched up to Kohei, and politely waited to be acknowledged. Tatsuhiro was beginning to see how they missed her the first time, she made virtually no noise at all when she moved, and certainly none at all when standing still. Even the armadillo appeared to still itself when she ceased moving.

"Colonel." Kohei nodded at her, and once more, she bowed. "What have you learned?"

"The warpsteel is from Moa Station. High Command will wish to send a salvage barge and several units to commandeer the _Farthest Shore_ , and very likely ask that you remain in the area to warn off freelance salvagers."

"I'm disinclined to honor such a request in light of their unwillingness to share intelligence." Kohei replied.

"I shall be sure to inform them." Cáel was unperturbed by his words. Kohei scrutinized her for a moment.

"You have too many masters, Colonel."

"Such is the fate of a Guard, Daimyo." Cáel smile could only be called chagrined.

"You may go, Colonel."

"A moment more, if you please."

"I do not, Colonel. I grow weary of your cheek."

"Tis fair, but about the armadillo-"

"I don't care. You deal with it." Kohei said turning his back on her. Suddenly the armadillo was in Tatsuhiro's hand, and Cáel in front of Kohei, her fist smashed into the bulkhead, barring his passage. She glared up at him, all of which would have been significantly more intimidating, if she wasn't less than half his size, and craning her neck to hold his gaze.

"On the off chance that it somehow slipped by you, I feel it is incumbent to remind you that you have a problem. That I am your liaison should clue you in to just how big a problem it is. I am Guard, Daimyo. In this system, we are the last chance. You have made some serious enemies. The Army does not trust you. The Ennobled of Sentinel do not trust you. Many humans question the wisdom of encouraging your continued presence. Currently the only people in your favor are the Kru. And don't think I don't know how that sticks in your craw." Her voice was soft and calm, and despite the display of anger, she was very much in control of herself. Kohei stared at her, his face darkening as his rage mounted.

"We are the Emperor's own, we answer only to him." His voice rumbled like thunder, as Roka and Manzo moved to flank him, recognizing that tone. Kohei was angry enough to kill.

"Terra is a long way away from here, Daimyo. Unless you wish to bring the system under a compliance that looks more like extinction, you _need_ to start caring about what Oasians care about."

The Marines stiffened- knowledge of the Great Crusade was not generally available in this system and Legion leadership had been very grateful not to have to exert that sort of pressure on the Oasians when the _Audacious_ had suddenly dropped free of the warpstorm.

"And what do Oasians care so much about..?" Kohei's voice still rumbled dangerously.

"We care about family, and loyalty. We care about our children's happiness. We care about those lost to the Warp. We care a great deal about what our Ennobled and our military have to say. We care about peace, we value harmony over violent solutions when possible. And as antagonistic as I sound, we care deeply about you. Don't we, Librarian?"

"You speak the truth as you understand it, yes." Yoshi strode up from the lower level of the bridge, where he had entered. He stopped beside Roka. "But since entering this system, I have picked up a lot of mistrust of us as well."

"I would be very surprised if you hadn't. You are transhuman. There is a palpable fear of us transhumans, because we've given up part of our humanity in the defense of this system. The Legion appears in our eyes to have given up even more than my sister Guards. That means we have even fewer things we can claim in common." She looked back at Kohei. "You _must_ show you have humanity left. It's a small gesture, but the effects would ripple through the system like dropping a rock in a still pond. Return the armadillo to it's original crew. I'll arrange for the taifeadta to be there, picters and articles will span the system, and engender you some much needed good will."

Kohei unclenched his fists and crossed his arms, still glaring at her.

"So I should send the _Audacious_ to deliver a pet?" Manzo and Roka both found it easier to breath suddenly, as Kohei's voice, although still low with anger, no longer held the threat of violence.

"No. You only need to send one Marine. Send him in his ceremonial best, and I'll arrange for the rest."

"Are there an other requirements, O Liaison?" Kohei asked sarcastically.

Cáel lowered her arm, her own expression still annoyed.

"Yes. As you love the Emperor, send someone who knows how to smile." She pivoted on her heel and like a shadow slipped out between Roka and Yoshi.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kohei demanded. Cáel took the armadillo back from Tatsuhiro.

"I need to make arrangements, and this little guy needs some food and medical attention." She did bow deeply to the group. "I will contact you as soon as I have the details hammered out." And with that she walked off the bridge, back straight and head held high.

"Arrogant little-" Kohei started.

"It took everything in her just now not to run out of here, Daimyo." Yoshi interrupted him.

"So she knows fear? Will wonders never cease." Kohei snorted. He looked at his officers. "Who are we sending?"

Manzo and Roka exchanged looks before saying in unison, "Kenji". Kohei looked to Shinta, who nodded. "He is the most affable." Kohei's gaze flicked over his assorted noncommissioned officers, who also agreed with the captains choice.

"Do you have any objections, Tatsuhiro?" Kenji was, after all, in his squad.

"No, Daimyo. I'll see to it that his armor is up to the task."

"See that yours is as well. You're both going to this conference with the taifeadta." Kohei growled, dismissing him with a wave.

* * *

"This warpsteel, tells us about it." Kohei made room for Yoshi to join them. The Librarian took his place.

"I've never seen anything like it. It's a metal and has the feel of plasteel, but lighter. It's never been machined, but formed by pysker will. It's no earthly metal - and," he nodded at the Smiths, "it appears to self heal a certain amount of damage."

"That explains the Colonel's sword." The Smith mused. The Armorer nodded. "It had a few nicks in the vibrational teeth when she first arrived, but when we returned to it later, it was pristine."

"Have you finished your analysis of her weapons?" Kohei queried.

"Yes. The volter is rather straight forward, it's a lightning weapon, not unlike the primitive boomsticks we encountered on Monosirus VII. The sonic sword is different. The vibrational teeth are the only part made from this warpsteel, the rest is a high tungsten/carbon plasteel, the same alloy we've received when requesting plasteel. The vibrational teeth set up a harmonic that disrupts on the molecular level, it literally shakes apart whatever it encounters, while producing a whine like sound."

"Sounded like a wolf howl as it cut through the warpspawn," Haru noted. The Smiths looked thoughtfully at the robed Marine.

"I wonder if it changes sound depending on the type of matter it disrupts?" The Armorer offered.

"Please, save the speculation for the smithy floor. Librarian, is this a potential resource or some element we should avoid?" Kohei asked.

"I do not rightly know, Daimyo." Yoshi hesitated. "I skimmed the Colonel's mind- apparently there is an institution on Dodo where psykers are trained in the manipulation of warpsteel. I... should like your leave to visit it and learn more about it."

"Do it. If you have to, have the brat," he meant Cáel, "introduce you to the proper person."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Tatsuhiro did not see Cáel again until he and Kenji presented themselves for transfer a fortnight later. The _Audacious_ was still traveling towards Dodo, but close proximity to Auk meant a quick trip to the icebound planet could be accomplished by rapid deploy shuttle.

Cáel was talking to the Weapons Master as they approached and explaining that she wouldn't be taking her weapons.

"Colonel?"

Cáel turned and smiled at the two Marines in full regalia. She was dressed in trousers and a fur lined parka, her raven hair still braided, but hanging down her back almost to the small of her back. The armadillo rode comfortably in the hood of the parka, and whistled when it saw Tatsuhiro, recognizing him. It rested it's forepaws on Cáel's shoulder, looking much healthier than when they first found it.

"Welmet, Taisa, Senshi." She bowed, but not too deeply least the armadillo fall out, but her welcome was heartfelt. "Kenji, is it? Please, for this venture, just call me Cáel."

"Yes ma'am." Kenji bobbed his head.

"You're dressed rather, er, not regimental." Tatsuhiro noted, as the Weapons Master left, taking her weapons with him. Cáel chuckled softly at his choice of words.

"I am not going as a soldier for this meeting, Taisa. As your translator, it would be better for me to blend in with the locals." She explained, stepping to one side so they might enter before her.

"The Army has not approved of this mission?" Tatsuhiro guessed, sensing a certain amount of duplicity in her explanation, as he took his seat.

"I had to take a leave of absence to go to this." She sighed, and strapped into the human sized seat between them. "But this is supposed to be all about the Legion, so it's just as well."

"Ready, Taisa?" The pilot asked from the cockpit.

"We are ready, pilot." The transfer would take several hours, which suited Tatsuhiro fine, as Cáel still needed to brief them.

Cáel pulled up a sleeve and revealed a wrist comm. "I will provide translations through your vox. The captain and pilot are the parents of the official owner of our friend here." She rubbed the armadillo under the chin and the whistled it's pleasure. "Kenji, it's up to you to hand the jeffy back to the child." She glanced at the younger Marine. "You'll want your helmet and gauntlets off for the meeting. And don't forget to smile. You're now the face of the Legion. If Oasians don't see you smile, they will assume you lost the ability to feel happiness."

"Is that really what they think?" Kenji asked, blinking.

"There is a foolish lot of speculation on the neosphere about how inhuman the Legion has become, which why we are doing this." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Another word of warning, the family we are going to meet are Kru. Have you interacted with any Kru yet?"

Kenji slowly shook his head.

"Fortunately there is nothing different between a human child and a Kru child other than how they look."

"That's a rather big difference, Colonel." Tatsuhiro noted. Cáel gave him a less than impressed sideways glance.

"I recognize that you don't spend much time around human children either, so let me remind you of a couple things. You're much larger than them, kneel when you hand back the jeffy. It'll be less intimidating and make for a better picter. Also, although the child will likely not speak Gothic, she will definitely understand it, so feel free to respond openly to any questions she has. Taisa can vox you any information you are not immediately aware of, but remember to do so in a kind voice."

"You were there too, Colonel." Tatsuhiro reminded her.

"I was, but any answer from me would sound too scripted. They want to hear the Legion speak, not the Army's spy."

"You're not a spy." Kenji looked offended at the notion. Cáel smiled faintly, although her eyes looked troubled.

"That is not what the pro-Legion factions think," she stated bluntly. "There will be a meet and greet with the taifeadta afterwards. The family may stay for it, although they most likely will leave after they thank you. My understanding is they have been suffering the attentions of the taifeadta for almost ten days now. I know I would leave. The questions you chose to answer from the taifeadta are entirely up to you. I'm presuming the Daimyo is sending the good Taisa along because you've weathered one of these before."

Tatsuhiro nodded. It had been a singular event for him, and one he likened to maneuvers while under fire.

"Other than translating, I will not coach your words unless you explicitly ask me to. I cannot express strongly enough, this is a Legion event. It must sound and feel like it is coming from you."

"Do I need to smile during this meet and greeting?"

"No, few people do once the questions start. The subjects will likely be very serious, so smiling will be inappropriate then." She paused, thinking for a second. "Questions will come fast and furious, do not hesitate to hold up a hand and point to a taifeadta one at a time if you need to. Make sure you point to each taifeadta at least once. If you do not know an answer, say so. If answering a question would expose proprietary information, say as much, and politely refuse to answer the question. Ignorance and refusing on grounds of security are much more acceptable to the Oasian mind than lies." She looked from Tatsuhiro to Kenji. "Any more questions?"

"I understand keeping my helmet off, but why take off my gauntlets?" Kenji asked, removing that part of his armor.

"We're trying to make you look human. The armor is impressive and I appreciate the high shine you took the time to give it, but when the picters go out with the coverage from this meeting, a great deal of focus will be given to the symbolic act of handing back the armadillo. It's a much... warmer image, your bare hand, handing over the armadillo to the girl."

"Should we leave our weapons behind then?" Tatsuhiro asked. Cáel shook her head.

"No. No one would dream of disarming a soldier or Guard for an interview. An empty holster looks much worst. As far as the people of Oasis are concerned, an empty sheath or holster is symbolic of a soldier dying in action. Wear your weapons." Cáel coaxed the armadillo out of her hood. "You might as well get to know our friend here, Senshi." She held the creature up to Kenji. "Let it sniff your hand." She advised.

"Colonel, you mentioned pro-Legion factions," Tatsuhiro watched bemused as Kenji let the creature get his scent then headbutt his hand for attention.

"It wants you to pet it." Cáel deposited the armadillo in Kenji's lap. "I did. It's mostly made up of Kru and the Ennobled of Auk and Dodo. Currently it's the the majority in the tri-planetary council, but dissent from the Army means that increasingly the Legion is coming under undue scrutiny from the people."

"What did we do to lose their support?" Tatsuhiro asked plainly.

Cáel frowned for a moment.

"O'Doolle got himself killed from all the reports I saw, but that doesn't matter to the Army, he was one of them and they felt the Legion abandoned him. I..." She bit her lip, struggling for a moment to put her thoughts into words. "O'Doolle was well liked in the circles he traveled in. He was good looking, affable and his soldiers thought he was a fair minded commander."

"You did not agree?"

"I trained with him, when I was captain of the Guard, and we had war games. He was ambitious, and not always in a good way. I felt like he was aiming for an ennoblement, ...I wasn't comfortable with his tactics." She grimaced. "When I took up the mantel of the Guard I had only one purpose- to protect. I don't understand the craving of power over others. The only power I have ever wanted is the strength to protect."

"It is my experience that people who crave power over others are usually trying to protect themselves against something else." Tatsuhiro suggested.

"You're probably right." Cáel nodded. She leaned her head back for a moment, hands laced behind her head.

"Have I ruined my chance with Kohei?" She surprised him by asking.

Tatsuhiro gave her a quizzical look.

"Why do you ask?"

"I challenged him in his seat of power. In front of his men and the human crew. He was ready to kill me for my insolence." Tatsuhiro carefully hid his dismay behind a blank look - he had earnestly hoped she hadn't realized how close it had been. She must have noticed because she gave him a wry smile. "Kohei is not the first person to consider tossing me out an airlock, Taisa."

Tatsuhiro considered his words, as the honor of the Legion was imperiled by this misunderstanding.

"You are correct to say he is not pleased with you, but many things about this situation displeases him. We should be back at Terra, yet, here we are, four years on, still imprisoned in system by warpstorms. We should not be engaged in politicking, but we have been called to account for every action we have taken since arrival. We are used to answering only to the Emperor, but your people expect us to answer to them as well. This is strange and baffling to us."

"I can actually answer that. Our greatest fear is the loss of our humanity. The Warp strips it from us, but becoming transhuman does that as well. For that reason, anyone who chooses to become transhuman must take on ties to bind them more tightly to human masters. Kohei was right when he said I have too many masters. But they are the only guarantee I can give the rest of Oasis that I am still bound to humanity." She sighed. "I'm sorry we're such a mess, Taisa."

"Don't be. Your system has found a way to survive against all odds. Unusual traditions are bound to result from such unusual conditions."

* * *

Ennobled: The ruling class of the Oasis system

jeffy: slang for armadillo in system

daimyo: title of the commanding officer of the Legion II forces in system

* * *

 ** _Just a reminder, if you see misspelling or glaring in-universe mistakes, please do not hesitate to bring them to my attention._**


	9. Chapter 9

Auk slowly rotated below them, an unending expanse of ice and fissures. After so many millennia of settlement the planet had developed a thin atmosphere with a rudimentary weather system. Like a gauzy veil, the wispy clouds encircled the planet a mere kilometer above the surface. Tatsuhiro watched Cáel's face as she took in the sight, noting the tiniest hints of longing.

"Have you been to Auk before?"

A half smile pulled at her lips.

"Several times, but only for brief visits. I am curious to see what changes have occured since my last trip." Her eyes were glued to the screen, as they descended through the shroud of the atmosphere and into the landing canyon.

Ice walls loomed ever taller over them, then from below light spilled out as a hatch as wide as three shuttles opened. Water cascaded around them, filling the veiw screen with thick vapor and distorted twinkling lights. The pilot was flying blind now, speaking rapidly to the control tower. Their descent temporarily halted, then they felt the shuttle rotate until it found the proper sequence of lights and ponderously moved towards the landing cradle. With the precision that only a Legion pilot could boast, their pilot landed them directly within the scuffed yellow painted target square without so much as a bump.

"My compliments to the pilot." Cáel called unstrapping and standing.

"Thank you, Colonel." If he was pleased with the compliment he didn't show it, but Tatsuhiro heard the pride in his tone.

"Um. What should I do with the jeffy?" Kenji asked, and both officers looked to see the armadillo contently perched on his shoulder, leaning into the crook of his neck.

"Nothing. It seems happy enough there." Cáel grinned at Tatsuhiro's bemused expression. "Just don't bow too quickly."

"Yes, ma'am." Gingerly at first, then with growing confidence in the armadillo's secure placement, Kenji followed after. Cáel lead the way, off the shuttle and through the billowing clouds of chilly spray.

The staging area was loud with the echoing sound of men and machines and the ever present cascading of water over the edge of the hydroslip. Cáel moved swiftly through the maze of vehicles and clouds, forcing the Marines to trot to keep up. They made their way through three vapor locks, the last one blowing furnace hot air on them, drying their armor and curling the fly away hairs around Cáel's head. Finally they stepped out onto the grand avenue.

The difference was night and day.

The wide avenue was lined with trees, their spreading branches and leaves rustling gently in the warm breeze that carried with it the scents of a thousand different flowers, all growing from the window boxes that lined the windows of the edifices that made up the avenue. High above the vaulted ceiling held back not ice, but a thick layer of water, which eased the thick ice sheet over the city. All three of them filled their lungs with the clean air, so different from the recycled and purified air aboard the _Audacious._

"We lucked out. It's still spring here." Cáel commented, stepping down and leading the way through the busy avenue. Humans and Kru alike hurried about their business, and the Marines were aware of more than a few startled glances, but any eye contact was met with a shy smile. Here, it seemed, their presence was a welcome oddity, and Tatsuhiro felt relief more keenly than he had realized he would.

The Marines moved at the pace Cáel set for them, leisurely enough for men used to hours long forced marches, but presently Tatsuhiro became aware of impatience in Cáel's posture.

"Colonel."

"Just Cáel, please, Taisa."

"Cáel then. Are we late?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to be in a hurry."

Cáel adjusted her pace so they were walking abreast.

"Forgive me, Taisa. I'm merely wanting to get this over with."

"You don't enjoy these meetings?" Tatsuhiro's expression was neutral, but his tone teasing.

"I will take a week of all out melee over a visit with the taifeadta," she asserted stoutly. "And I have every reason to believe you would do the same after you've attended enough of these."

Behind them, Kenji chuckled softly.

"You still back there, Senshi?" Cáel queried, grinning broadly.

"Yes ma'am." Kenji smiled.

"Good. Ask the fellow skulking behind you to introduce himself."

Both Marines snapped about face, and the man following them took a startled step back. He was a tallish blond, perhaps in his forties, and sported a rather spectacular scar on the left side of his face.

"Please identify yourself." Kenji requested politely. Unnerved the man swallowed.

"C-colonel Cáel...?" He stammered.

"Wrong answer. I know the Colonel personally, you are not she." Kenji frowned at him.

"I believe that was a call for rescue, Senshi." Cáel stepped around him, then tilted her head. "MacClesfield? What are you doing here? I thought you were still raising hackles on Sentinel."

Macclesfield smiled sheepishly, and held out his hand to her. Cáel seized his hand and shook.

"Got reassigned when I got my promotion, Maggie's happier ta be nearer ta family here." He babbled, looking relieved.

"She and babies doing well?"

"Oh, aye, Colonel." He beamed. "Eldest is off ta flight Academia next month."

"Well, congratulations." She grinned. "I'll be sure to look you up the next time I'm in the area. Apologies, but I have to get these to gentlemen to the taifeadta conference."

"I get it, run fast, run silent, Colonel." He smiled understanding and gave her hand one last shake before turning and bowing, clumsily, to the Marines. "Good day ta ya, gents."

Tatsuhiro bobbed his head in response, then glanced at Cáel.

"What did he pass you?"

Cáel grinned at him. "Wouldn't you like to know."

* * *

Tatsuhiro, unsuccessfully, tried to coax further information from Cáel for the remainder of walk. She steadfastly refused to be baited, and, upon arrival to the amphitheatre, waded into a crowd of people, leaving him and Kenji waiting in the lobby.

"I didn't see anything exchange hands, Taisa." Kenji admitted quietly, as they waited.

"You weren't meant to. It was a very good pass, I didn't see it as much as guess that it occurred." Tatsuhiro explained. "The Colonel confirmed it for me."

"What made you think it occured?"

"The conversation was a little too scripted. They were exchanging code." Tatsuhiro tried not to feel annoyed.

"Taisa? Senshi? Can you hear me?" Cáel's voice filtered through the vox.

"Yes, Colonel."

"They're ready for you. Please go through the double doors. "


	10. Chapter 10

Kohei sidestepped and struck. His strike was parried by the training cage, as the setting was on the highest level. He had been practicing for the past hour, losing himself in the pure motion, being in the moment. He hoped the practice would help clear his head and settle his disquiet. Not for the first time he regretted his promotion. Leadership had its perks, but the perpetual headache made him question if it was truly worth it. He frequently wondered how the primarchs managed it - and more often, how Susanno would handle the Oasis system. So much here was utterly baffling.

"Daimyo?" The vox crackled and he hit the terminus.

"Go ahead."

"Encrypted transmission from Auk for you."

"Auk? Not High Command?" In the past the only encrypted transmissions had come from the military platforms orbiting the various planets.

"No sir. Transmission originated with the Genebank."

"Send it to my cabin. I'll be along shortly."

"Yes sir."

Hanging his sword up on the rack Kohei reflected once again that this system made no earthly sense.

* * *

Cáel met them inside the double doors. Like a primitive airlock there were two sets of doors, and a side passage cordoned off with a velvet rope. She unclipped the rope to admit them then lead them up into the wings of the stage.

"I'll be back here, it's up to you if you both want to go on stage." She explained.

"I'm sure Kenji ca-"

A whistle interrupted, high pitched and excited. The armadillo, which had been contently cuddled up to Kenji's neck suddenly sat up on its hind legs and whistled in response. There was a scrambling sound, and an olive and sky blue feathered Kru child dashed out from the other wing, whistling again.

Kenji turned and stepped out beyond the curtain, the armadillo whistling once again in response, then launching itself in its excitement off the very tall shoulder of the Marine. Only Kenji's quick response saved the armored creature from a painful fall, and as the child hesitated in front of him, he knelt holding the armadillo out to her.

"I believe this is yours?" He asked softly. The child snatched up the equally happy armadillo, trilling with joy. Picter flashes filled the room.

"She's saying, 'you really did find him'." Cáel chuckled softly from the vox. The armadillo licked her face, wriggling all over with happiness. The girl looked up from her pet, then jumped up hugging Kenji around the neck, whistling the same three notes over and over again.

"And now she is saying 'thank you'. Repeatedly." Tatsuhiro glanced at Cáel who was grinning broadly at the very human display of childlike gratitude.

Startled, but not in a bad way, Kenji smiled and gently patted her back while the room lit up with thousands of blinding picter flashes.

Two more Kru, almost as tall as the Marines, stepped out and politely joined the two on stage. The girl finally let go, and dashed over to show her parents the returned armadillo. Both of them trilled back at her, petting the creature on its scaled head, then walking up to Kenji, and bowing.

Citizens bowed differently from the military, in this system, their hands clasped together, held at the waist and bowing. They whistled a rather formal sounding bit.

"The captian and pilot thank you heartily for the safe return of the crew mate, and dear pet."

Kenji stood, and bowed the way he had seen Cáel do it.  
"We live to serve." He replied, the previously decided upon answer. More picter flashes.

The girl whistled another question, still cuddling the armadillo.

"She asked when we fed him last. The armadillo had breakfast, but will be ready to eat again in a few hours. " Cáel provided.

Kenji knelt again, and more flashes followed.  
"Your jeffy had breakfast, but he might be hungry again in a couple hours." The child twittered, something akin to laughter, then chirped a comment.

"He's always hungry. I have to be careful or he'll get fat."

"Is that a bad thing?" Kenji asked, and the audience chuckled. The girl nodded factually, and whistled.

"If he gets fat he can't crawl in bed without help." Cáel sounded amused. Further conversation was suspended by the addition of a fourth Kru, this one a startling large male with bright red plumage. He bowed to Kenji, then to the waiting taifeadta, and began a long formal series of whistles and chirps.

"Red Like Autumn Dawn wishes to welcome you and the gathered taifeadta to this hall. The crew of the _Farthest Shore That Touches The Golden Light_ expresses it's great gratitude for the sacrifices made by the Legion, especially over is single crew member. There will be a question and answer session of the representative of the Legion, but now, the crew will be taking their leave. Please thank them for their time." Cáel translated quickly, as the taifeadta applauded. The Kru family bowed to the audience, then left, leaving Kenji alone on stage. Red Like Autumn Dawn bobbed his head at the Marine, and trilled a request.

"Please state your name and title."

"I am Kenji Higa, Senshi in the Legion Segundius."

There a was a pause, as Red Like Autumn Dawn checked something on his data slate, then looked out at the gathered taifeadta, and whistled something.

On the other end of the vox Cáel choked, and Tatsuhiro glanced at her. Cáel recovered, and quickly translated.

"Dawn gave your Kru name just now. And now he's opening the floor to questions. Don't hesitate to hold up a hand if they get-" the barrage of questions quickly overwhelmed the poor Marine, and he held up both hands in a 'stop' gesture. The taifeadta fell quiet, and Kenji began by pointing to the Kru taifeadta in the back rightmost seat.

"Is it true you took casualties during this mission?"

"No, we had two injured Marines, but no deaths." Kenji pointed to the taifeadta next to him.

"What were their injuries?"

"Don't answer that." Cáel advised Tatsuhiro. "They know they are not privy to medical records of the Army."

"Tell them that both injuries required a few days bed rest." Tatsuhiro replied, and Kenji curled a finger, to signal he had heard.

"The injured Marines only required a few days of bed rest, fortunately." Kenji explained with a reassuring tone, and pointed to the next taifeadta.

This went on for some time, and presently Tatsuhiro became aware of another person standing patiently in the wings near them. He turned slightly, and caught sight of an older man, with a mechanical arm, watching them. Their eyes met and the man smiled faintly, dipping his head. Tatsuhiro took a step back, to face him, still listening to the ongoing question session.

"May I help you?"

The man shook his head.  
"Nae, I wanted ta thank ye for bringin' back the jeffy. Hope twas beyond delighted when she learned Wiggles twas still alive. "

"We live to serve." Tatsuhiro replied automatically. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"I served in the Army, sir. We wouldn't have taken the time ta return the beast. Ye made me adopted niece happier than we had any right ta hope for. I wanted ta personally thank ye." He bowed deeply, his mechanical arm crossing his chest. "Ye and the champion both."

Cáel turned, an eyebrow arched as she appraised the retired soldier.

"Ye t'aint be that old, _leanabh._ " she replied in the same brogue, and the man laughed.

"Nae, ma'am but I read a lot."

Cáel furrowed her brow for a moment, then spoke into her wrist comm. "Kenji, make sure your next three questions are in Gothic, I need to step away for a moment."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta take ye away from yer work." He objected slightly.

"I'm not that necessary." Cáel demured, joining him. "Have ye been sleepin' well, _mhac_?" She asked in the same accent. He blinked and looked at his feet, embarrassed.

"Most nights, aye."

"Are the dreams comin' back?" She pressed gently. He shook his head.

"I donna remember me dreams."

Cáel reached under her parka and rifled through a pouch until she found what she was looking for.

"Perhaps tis for the best. Here." She took his hand in her own, and pressed a small round metal disk into it. "Take this ta any apothacarion, in my name, and see a psyksician. If not for yerself, do it for Hope."

Her burnt honey eyes searched his troubled green ones for a long moment. "What's yer name, _mhac_?"

"Nathrach MacDavis." He all but whispered. Tatsuhiro, eavesdropping shamelessly, also monitored Kenji, who continued answering blissfully unaware of what was going on backstage.

"Nathrach MacDavis, I expect a letter from ye in a month's time." She smiled understandingly at him. "Go, get better, so ye can rejoin yer crew when they find a new ship ta run." He nodded once more, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Go with me blessin's, _mhac_. Ta yer happiness."

"Thank ye, ma'am." His voice wavered, then he drew to his full height and saluted her, mechanical hand over his heart. She returned the gesture, then watched as the man left.

"What was that all about?" Tatsuhiro asked when she returned to his side.

"When I was in first in the Army we called it stormtaint, but it changes names every couple of generations." She sighed. "You see it most in old soldiers. During their service they see too much, lose too many comrades to the Warp. It preys on their minds, even decades after they complete their service. We try to catch it before it gets to this point, but long term soldiers are particularly stubborn about admitting they have problems."

"He seemed open about it with you."

Cáel snorted.  
"I called him on it. He couldn't ignore it once I asked. Kenji, choose three Krun speakers for your next questions." She spoke into her wrist comm, effectively ending further questions on Tatsuhiro's part.

* * *

The question and answer session ended after several hours, Kenji answering every taifeadta twice, then Red Like Autumn Dawn called a close to the meeting. Kenji bowed to the crowd and received a standing ovation as he retreated to the wings.

"Well done, Senshi." Cáel smiled warmly at him, and he responded with a chagrined half smile of his own.

"I had no idea they thought those things about us." He admitted, and Cáel chuckled.

"You should hear what they believe about the Guard, and we've been in system since the beginning." She grinned, waving him and Tatsuhiro to follow her.

"Cáel."

"Yes, Taisa?"

"What was it that you gave MacDavis?"

"The favor coin?" She pulled a curtain aside and headed for the back exit. "You don't have those?"

"No. What is it's function?"

Cáel held up a hand, opening the backdoor and checking before she motioned them through. This road was built for vehicle traffic, and sparsely populated at this hour.

"Step lively. Becoming a Guard means giving up a lot of things, and one of those things is personal wealth. Because of that we are granted the use of favor coins, which pretty much covers the cost of any good or service we might have need of. I always carry a couple, in case I get stranded someplace. But we can give them to others too, and as long as they declare using it in our name, they can receive the same benefits."

"What happens to these coins once they change hands?" Tatsuhiro and Kenji matched her speed, not quite a jog but certainly faster than when they had walked in.

"The Creche covers the costs incurred and recovers the coins."

"What's the Creche?" Kenji asked.

"It's the command center for the Guard, yes?" Tatsuhiro replied. Cáel nodded. "It's also where we're modded." She added, then pointed to an alley directly to the left of them. "Turn here, then up the wall of the hab."

"Up, ma'am?" Kenji gave her one baffled look as she turned, then leapt up onto the external wall escape ladder.

"Quickly. There's not a lot of distance between us and them." Cáel ordered.

"Magboots, Senshi." Tatsuhiro reminded him, and strolled up the wall. "Although, Colonel, I'd like to know who we are running from."

"Muckrackers- are you familiar with the term?"

"No."

Kenji followed suit, and soon all three were on the roof. Cáel paused, facing them.

"They are a flavor of the taifeadta you do not want to meet. They make their money with vid of people in compromised positions. They are extremely aggressive."

"We can be aggressive too, Colonel." Tatsuhiro reminded her.

"Unless you're prepared to hide bodies as well, I highly recommend against it." Cáel peered over one side of the hab, then walked to the other. "I'm suppose to keep you from meeting, since there's simply no way you walk away from an encounter with the Legion's honor intact." She gave them both a sharp look. "I say this in the utmost confidence. The anti-Legion faction is looking for any excuse to get rid of you. And they will happily use muckrackers to achieve that end."

"Does Kohei know?" Tatsuhiro frowned as she checked over the side.

"If he didn't when we left he will have by now. You asked what was passed to me, it was a warning about their presence." She sat down suddenly, below the lip of the edge. She faced them. "The Grand Dame has decided to share all our intel with you, which means she has no confidence in High Command. This isn't surprising, it's actually been a long time in coming, but High Command is now aligning with some pretty questionable power players." She grimaced. "So, please, can we avoid an encounter?"

Kenji glanced apprehensively at Tatsuhiro.

"Who do you owe the most loyalty to, Cáel of Sentinel?" Tatsuhiro asked quietly.

"The Grand Dame and the Creche."

"Then we will avoid meeting these muckrackers." He looked around. "We could travel mostly along the hab tops back to the port. Was that your plan?"

Cáel nodded, and crawled on all fours until she was far enough away from the edge to stand without being seen from the street.

"You recall the way back?" Tatsuhiro and Kenji nodded. "Good. It sounds like they've move away. Let's go."

* * *

Glossary:

Taifeadta: reporter/s

psyksician: a psyker who specializes in healing mental disorders

Muckrackers: reporters who specialize in fabricating situations to catch people of interest at their worst moments.

Mhac: Oasian word meaning son

Leanabh: Oasian word meaning baby

* * *

 ** _As always if you notice misspellings or grievous misuse of in universe knowledge, drop me a line._**


	11. Chapter 11

"So, she did tell you what information was passed to her." Kohei murmured thoughtfully, staring at the board before him.

"Yes." Tatsuhiro nodded. "Was information made available to us, like she said?"

"Yes. I forwarded it on to Intel as soon as I realized what it was." Given that he had done that a mere six hours before, Kohei expected it to be days more before the data was thoroughly parsed. "So what happened then?"

"We were fine until we reached the entrance of the port..."

* * *

"Oh for the love of little apples." Cáel muttered crossly, peering over the edge of the hab closest to the port entrance. Set up, just beyond the steps leading to the vapor lock were no fewer than ten taifeadta with various picter and vid equipment arrayed for quick use.

"I'm beginning to think your mudrackers are wary to your tricks, Colonel." Tatsuhiro teased, honestly amused by the situation and the great lengths Cáel went to disguise her presence from the taifeadta. The Marines were getting quite the lesson in Guard stealth.

"We would be a in world of hurt if they knew I was with you, Taisa. No, this is the result of someone offering them a significant sum to compromise you." She sat down cross-legged, and began pulling things out of her belt pouch.

"I have a flash bang grenade." Kenji offered, which earned him a withering look from Tatsuhiro.

"I will pretend I didn't hear that, Senshi." He warned in a low tone.

"If I'm going to expedite your escape through violent means, Senshi, I need to be more focused. We really can't afford to damage the vapor locks." Cáel replied mildly. Tatsuhiro gave her a curious look, noticing a familiar purple metal square in the pile from her pouch.

"What are you looking for?"

"My hotwire. Ah, here it is. I have a plan, but," she looked back at them, "you're not going to get stubborn are you?" It was more of a plaintive plea for them to refrain, than any attempt at a slight.

"That depends. What is our role in it?"

"As soon as the way is clear, you make all haste through the locks to the shuttle." Cáel began returning things to her pouch.

"That's not a plan, those are marching orders." Tatsuhiro gave her a flat look.

"True, but I fear you might try to stop me if I told you what I'm planning on doing." She at least had the grace to look sheepish.

"You are planning something foolish?"

"I prefer the term reckless myself." She closed her pouch and crawled back over to them.

"Are you certain you aren't secretly a Space Wolf?"

"What's that?"

* * *

"Did you have an idea what she was planning before the ruckus ensued?" Kohei queried, and laid down a black game piece. Tatsuhiro shook his head.

"She dislikes asking allies to compromise their morals." Yoshi added, considering the move. He had been studiously trying not to read Kohei's thoughts, so Tatsuhiro's and Kenji's were coming in particularly strong. The Librarian placed a white game piece down on the Go board between him and the Daimyo.

"I thought you said you only did a cursory reading of her." Manzo noted. He and Roka were seated also, watching the game with interest, since the winner got to play them next.

"She knew what I was. She deliberately left certain aspects open for me to glean when I deep read her intention." Yoshi shrugged. It had startled him to find that sort of training in a non-psyker.

"Carry on, Brother." Kohei waved at Tatsuhiro, to continue his tale.

* * *

With a certain amount of trepidation the Marines agreed to stay on the roof as Cáel caused a distraction. Twenty minutes later, her voice broke the silence over the vox.  
"Be ready to move, gentlemen."

An engine whined and wheels screeched as an open air delivery truck careened around the corner from the vehicle street onto the footpath leading to the entrance to the port.

"THE ACCELERATOR IS STUCK!" Cáel shouted a frantic warning to the gathered taifeadta and laid on the vehicle's horn.

The taifeadta scattered as the out of control vehicle smashed in the assorted picter and vid equipment, missing several muckrackers by mere centimeters.

Tatsuhiro and Kenji didn't wait for the 'lucky' survivors to collect their wits, they moved with all speed off the hab and past the wrecked equipment and into the relative safety of the vapor lock.

"We're in, Colonel."

"Good." Through the vox they could still hear the horn blaring. "Get to the shuttle. You pilot will have clearance to leave in 2 minutes."

"What about you?" Tatsuhiro demanded.

"Separate orders. Don't worry, I'll be back by the end of the month to annoy Kohei."

* * *

"So you left her?" Yoshi glanced up, as Kohei snorted softly.

"What else could they do, Brother? To stay would expose the ruse. And," he made his move, laying down another black game piece, "it's clear to me that she planned to stay planetside with that sort of diversion."

"I did not feel right about leaving her." Kenji spoke up, knowing he risked Kohei's ire.

"Your loyalty is admirable, Brother, but misplaced." Kohei remarked mildly.

"With all due respect, sir, the Colonel hasn't lied to us. Yes, she's challenged us, doesn't always follow orders, and will withhold information, but she's never lied to us, which is more than I can say about High Command." Tatsuhiro said, before Kenji could get himself in deeper.

"She has too many masters." Kohei eyed Tatsuhiro grumpily.

"She has only one master. You don't even need to read her mind to know it. She's Guard." Yoshi said simply, laying down a white game piece directly in front of the one Kohei just laid down.

"Then she lied about having multiple masters." Roka grumbled.

"One can have multiple masters on record, but chose to answer to only one." Yoshi replied evenly.

"And what promise do we have that she won't switch masters as it becomes convenient?" Manzo demanded.

Yoshi smiled bitterly.

"She can't. It's imprinted on her psyche. To change masters would break her."

* * *

Tatsuhiro was reading up on Sentinel's early history when the receiving agent contacted him.

"Taisa? We have a courier requiring your mark."

"I'm not expecting anything."

"Yes, but the courier refuses to unload the crate unless you accept." The agent sounded aggrieved, and with good cause. If the courier wouldn't even unload the crate, he couldn't even begin the security scan of the object.

"I'm on my way." Tatsuhiro tugged on a robe and made the trek down to the landing deck.

The receiving agent was easy to pick out, he was the only person arguing with a brightly hued Kru twice his size. Tatsuhiro joined them, noting the courier's crest feathers were slightly flared in annoyance.

"I am Taisa Tatsuhiro."

The courier turned and bowed deeply to Tatsuhiro, civilian style, his feathers flattening.

"Deepest apologies, great Taisa." The courier spoke passably good Gothic, a bit of a rarity, given that Kru vocal cords weren't really suited to human style speech. "But my employer was quite insistent that the crate be delivered to you alone."

"Oh?" Tatsuhiro took the offered dataslate from the recieving agent and licked a thumb, pressing it to the bioscreen. The slate beeped, and the Kru straightened up, waving at the steveadore waiting at the top of the ramp with the crate. The steveadore, a human female, tilted back a wheeled contraption to move the crate down the ramp and deposit in front of the receiving agent.

"Do you happen to know what's in it?" Tatsuhiro inquired of the orange and yellow Kru.

"Alas I do not. My duty is to deliver." Both courier and steveadore bowed once more, which Tatsuhiro acknowledged with a dip of his head. He appreciated the dedication the courier exhibited. Most would have allowed themselves to be cowed into giving the receiving agent the crate.

The courier and steveadore disappeared back into their ship as the agent made his peremptory scans.

"What did you get, Taisa?" Asked a cheerful voice in the vicinity of his left elbow.

Moya felt a heavy hand bear down and squeeze her shoulder.

"Do not _ever_ do that again, Taifeadta." Tatsuhiro managed to keep the growl out of his voice.

"Y-yes, sir." Moya blinked back tears of pain as his fingers bit into her shoulder.

"How did you learn to move so quietly?"

Moya swallowed.  
"I got modded."

"To move silently?" Tatsuhiro relented and released her. In his experience moving silently had to be trained.

"It's more a heightened sense of balance, you learn to move silently as part of the post modding therapy." Moya explained, rubbing her shoulder. The tender skin was doubtlessly bruised now.

"I see. And why have you returned to the flight deck, Taifeadta? You know you are not suppose to be here." Not, if Cáel was to be believed, that telling her would in fact change the redhead's ways.

"I was hoping to interview some of the flight deck crew." The embeddened taifeadta had been in the process of interviewing everyone who worked on the _Audacious_ , much to the surprise of a number of the human crew, who couldn't possibly fathom what made their lives so interesting to Oasians.

"Why are you trying to interview them while they are supposed to be working?"

"I wasn't, at least not right away. I wanted to observe them before interviewing them."

Tatsuhiro gave her a slightly incredulous look.

"You should be more careful, taifeadta. Your actions could be misconstrued as those of a spy."

"I- oh. Apologies." She replied in a small voice.

"Scan completed and cleared, Taisa. Shall we open it?" The receiving agent asked, noticing Moya, and pretending not to.

"Yes please. Stay, taifeadta. I wish to speak with you further."

Moya perked up a little. "Yes, sir."

The receiving agent pried the lid off and pulled out a heavy basket full of fragrant fruits and nuts.

"Rings above, who did you impress, Taisa?" Moya whispered, admiring the baskets' contents.

"I do not know. What are these?"

"Gift baskets?" Moya gave him a puzzled look. "You don't do gift baskets on your planet?"

"None of our home systems do. What is their significance?"

"Usually we give them out for exemplary services rendered. But the variety and amounts- you've impressed someone with deep pockets."

"Deep pockets?"

"Wealthy. Oi, agent, was there a message with these?"

"There is a packet- hey!" The agent helped as Moya snatched the packet away from him and presented it to Tatsuhiro.

"Thank you." Tatsuhiro sighed internally at Moya, opening the heavy parchment envelope and scanning the contents. The calligraphy was different enough to cause him pause, but he muddled through.

"Who sent it?" Moya asked impatiently.

"The Starlight Express. These are to be given to the squad that cleared out the _Farthest Shore_." He glanced at the agent. "Are there only 11, agent?"

"Yes Taisa."

"Is that a problem, Taisa?" Moya asked.

"There were 12 of us." He studied the list that described the different items someone had thoughtfully included.

"They probably didn't count Cáel. She insisted we remove all mention of her from our articles." Moya remarked, reaching in for a basket only for the receiving agent to slap her hand away. "Where is Her Bossiness anyways? She should be explaining all of this to you."

"She is away on official duty. "

Moya turned her beryl green eyes on him sharply.

"Not according to the Army. As far as they are concerned, she's here."

"And you know this how?" Tatsuhiro raised an eyebrow at her, and Moya pinked, starting to back up.

"Taifeadta privilege - ow!" Tatsuhiro's hand clamped back down on her bruised shoulder.

"You can't demand that information from me! I'm a taifeadta! I have protection!" She huffed at him.

"You are on a ship of the Imperium, taifeadta O'Henry. Oasian law does not trump Legion security. How are you privy to this information?"

Moya, discovering that trying to twist free only resulted in his grip tightening whimpered, then whispered "-dataslate."

"What about a dataslate?"

"I-I took Cáel's."

"How did you access the Colonel's dataslate?"

Moya beligerantly said nothing until Tatsuhiro squeezed.

"Agh! Stop! Half of my geneseed is hers."

"You're saying she is your mother?"

"Great Terra no! Ugh, she's be a terrible mother. No, my father was so taken with the mythic Champion of Dodo he ordered her gene sequence as the other half of my profile when he went to the Genebank."

"Does the Colonel know this?"

"Probably." Moya flinched when Tatsuhiro frowned at her. "C'mon, this is a cutthroat business! I use ever asset I got to get the facts first."

"Admitting to espionage does not help your case, taifeadta."

"Espionage?" Moya glared offended up at him, and in that moment, he could see the familial facial traits between the two. "Nothing of the sort! All I do is check that whatever the official line the Army gives is the truth! I would never compromise any mission!"

"Yet you would compromise the Colonel's security clearance?" Tatsuhiro was beginning to suspect Moya had a long standing grudge with Cáel that was in no way Cáel's doing.

"She's a Guard plant! Do you trust her not to betray you and the Army to the Grand Dame?"  
It was such a bizarre accusation that Tatsuhiro questioned if it was warp maddness.

"You claim to seek the truth, but your actions are more reminiscent of the muckrackers on Auk."

"You had something to do with that runaway truck on Auk?" Moya demanded.

"We did not."

"Define we." Moya hissed.

"The Legion had no part in the action against the muckrackers on Auk." Tatsuhiro intoned, having a moment of clarity as to why Cáel acted the way she did. As frustrating as it had been at the time, her every action had been to shield the Legion from negative backlash.

"I knew it! Cáel did it, didn't she? She takes every opportunity to screw with us, aaagh-" Moya's vindicated smirk turned to a look of pain as Tatsuhiro grabbed her other arm and held it behind her back.

"I will have that dataslate, taifeadta." There was no room in his tone for argument.

"Yes, yes, just stop squeezing-" she whined. He released her shoulder, and she pulled a nondescript dataslate from her calf pocket, handing it to him.

"Can you please let me go now?"

"No. Your actions have compromised a high ranking officer, and guest of the Legion. I'm taking you to the quartermaster."

* * *

 **Terms to Know:**

geneseed: DNA

gene sequence: a genetic profile, jargon term in reference to selecting specific genetic traits

Going/went to the Genebank: in the Oasis system parents to be go to Genebanks to select the DNA that makes up their children. This is done because there is a high rate of spontaneous miscarriage in natural conception.

Grand Dame: leader of the system's Genebank Guard

Go: a strategy game from Terra that goes back to pre-Age of Strife times

Flash bang grenade: a favorite tactical grenade of the author's. Produces a loud noise and a bright enough flash to rupture eardrums and temporarily blind people unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius. Some have enough of a percussion to temporarily stun a victim.

* * *

 _ **Hello again! Thank you for reading this far, and as always feel free to note me if you notice in universe discrepancies or gammar/spelling errors.**_


	12. Chapter 12

"Hiro."  
Tatsuhiro looked up to see Manzo beckoning him over. He stepped away from the ring of Marines, watching two of their brothers grapple on a hard packed earthen ring.

"Yes?" Manzo had been his squad leader when he had joined the Legion, so he didn't mind the more familiar moniker the senior Marine used.

"There's a Guard vessel inbound," Manzo looked apologetic, "Kohei would like you to escort the Colonel to him when she arrives."  
Tatsuhiro expected that much, Cáel's security clearance had been revoked pending a review of how compromised the account was.

Moya currently enjoyed the hospitality of the brig.

Manzo paused, and grimaced good-naturedly. "He's going to make you the Legion's liaison to the Army. All contact will to through you first. "

"If he is hoping I will have a calming influence on her, I fear he will be sorely disappointed." Tatsuhiro remarked fastidiously. Manzo guffawed.

"Just remember to vox me if you decide to lock her in a suit of armor. I wish to take bets."

* * *

The Guard vessel was little more than a cockpit mounted on a powerful realspace engine. The burgundy craft entered the flight bay and landed with such precision that it made the veteran pilots on deck take notice. Tatsuhiro could hear them murmuring admiration for the tight landing as well as the unhesitating maneuvering. The cockpit canopy opened with the soft whooshing of a pressure lock releasing, and a human woman in a white body glove and furlined parka got out. Tatsuhiro blinked, suddenly recognizing Cáel.

Something had happened to her, for her hair was now as white a the snows of Auk, and her skin as dark as aged bronze. Tatsuhiro knew these to be the signs of prolonged exposure to solar radiation, among the Marines. But Auk had no surface settlements...

Cáel whistled some comment to the pilot, a mauve Kru in a burgundy uniform, and the pilot responded in kind, briefly touching her shoulder, a awkward sort of pat, before Cáel hopped out with a careless sort of grace. The canopy closed behind her, pressurizing while the pilot waited for permission to leave.

"Taisa, what a pleasant surprise!" Her cheeky grin hadn't changed, although she scented of ice and thin atmosphere, he noticed, drawing closer. "Where's the Weapons Master?"

"I did not think he would be required..." Tatsuhiro trailed off as she began pulling various pieces out of her pouches and assembling a rifle.

"You might as well vox for him. I'll have this pulse rifle ready for inspection by the time he gets here."

Good to her word, the pulse rifle was ready when the Weapons Master arrived. She further produced three additional volters, and a sling of knives all obscured by the parka.

"It could not have been comfortable to travel like that." Tatsuhiro noted.

"Wasn't. But I'm required to look after them until their owners come for them." She bowed and grinned at the bewildered Weapons Master.

"How many owners are we discussing?"

"Six. All newly made Guard. Kohei would like them, they're very respectful."

"I should like the full story one day, Colonel."

"Tis fair." She agreed. "What brings you to greet me? I know you're not that interested in my arsenal."

"Kohei wishes to speak to you, and your security clearance has been temporarily suspended."

"Really? What did or didn't I do this time?" There was something sardonic in her tone.

"For once, Colonel, you're not at fault." Tatsuhiro replied.

"Curious." Bemused, Cáel asked no further questions. Somehow, that bothered Tatsuhiro even more than if she had peppered him with questions.

Kohei was in his 'office', a corner of the Hall of Records where bamboo room dividers partitioned off a space for his personal use. He sat cross legged on a silk floor cushion, at his desk, a repurposed teak tea table. His calligraphy set was out, and even at a distance Tatsuhiro could see the distinctive white parchment used for oaths of the moment.

It was unquestionablely a deliberate act, choosing this location. This was Kohei's real seat of power. Tatsuhiro pondered if Cáel recognized that, or the importance of the Hall.

At twenty paces Cáel broke her silence.

"Is this your Hall of Memory?" It was an innocent enough question, but the timing of it suggested it was more to be heard than to actually garnish any information. Tatsuhiro saw Kohei's paintbrush pause at the sound of her voice.

"Yes, although we call it the Hall of Records."

They stopped just outside the partition. Kohei took a moment longer to set aside the oath he was penning, then looked up at them.

"Enter and be seated. Both of you." The Daimyo pointed to two Astarte sized floor cushions in front of his desk. They seated themselves. Tatsuhiro sat crosslegged, but Cáel opted to sit on her knees, likely, Tatsuhiro guessed, to reduce some of the obvious height difference between them.

"Cáel of Sentinel," Kohei rumbled without preamble. "Was the examination successful?"

"Very. Did the Grand Dame explain my absence sufficiently?"

"She did." He picked up a dataslate and passed it to her. "Additionally, she has granted you dispensation to tell me or any other Marine the details of said examination, should it become relevant."

"She is most gracious," Cáel dipped her head, confirming the contents of the missive.

"How soon might we expect Guards to descend upon the _Audacious_ , Cáel of Sentinel?"

"If they are wise, never."

"And if they are more in line with your flavor of recklessness?"

"Then starting now, but if the past is any indication, they will most likely wait until I am down planet. It's a lot less humiliating that way."

"Does that mean you will have to carry those weapons with you every time you leave the _Audacious_?" Kohei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Only if it's for Guard work. Which should be rather limited for the time being." She smiled faintly. "There is such a thing as having too much of a good thing."

"Very well. Moya O'Henry," Cáel grimaced when Kohei said her name, "what do you know about her?"

"She's a fairly readable taifeadta. Her articles are very pro Army and pro Legion. If anything, the only major players she doesn't trust are the Ennobled and the Guard."

"Is that common?"

"Every taifeadta I have ever met has already decided on who they think the villains and the heroes are." Cáel gave a 'can't please them all' shrug. "I know she actually got her start as a fictionalist for a monthly erotica publication, her prose caught the eye of the rumors manager of the Daily Interplanetary who gave her a chance to pen marginally more realistic fictions, and she used that experience to move into the realm of factual scribing."

"Are you aware that half of her geneseed is based on yours?"

"No, but I had suspected it. She could be a leathcheann to one of my granddaughters."

"A what?"

"Leathcheann, ah, someone who strongly resembles another person, all the way down to the way they walk and talk."

"No," Kohei did pause to mentally file that word away for later consideration, "you said 'granddaughter'?"

"Yes."

"You have children?"

"I had a family once." Cáel gave him a quizzical look. "Are you unfamiliar with the requirements to become a Guard?"

"I am."

"There's really only one. Guards applicants must be widows. Many of my sister Guards have had children of their own prior to joining the Guard... this is not the Legion's way?"

"No. We are selected as children to be Astartes. Why do you wait so long?"

Cáel bit her lower lip, organizing her thoughts.

"The philosophy of the Creche is that there is nothing more dangerous than someone who has lost everything. Oasian culture revolves around the family, be it family of blood or family of affection. For us... the death of a mate rips out the very heart of a family. It severs the experiences of the past from the potential of the future. We get very attached to our mates, and the loss of the person who you troved to spend the rest of your life with, who should be there to celebrate your victories, and comfort you in life's trials is an anguish that..." she struggled with finding the right words. The mask of bravado slipped, and for the briefest of instants they saw her grief. Beyond the bamboo partition Tatsuhiro sensed the presence of another Marine. Yoshi's reflection stared back at them from the polished wall behind Kohei, then the Librarian moved off, as if satisfied that the spike in emotion was not a matter requiring his attention.

"There is a reason the Mourning Dances exist," she said, her voice rough. She swallowed, and continued, her tone more even. "To become a Guard is to give it all up. To take the broken pieces of your heart, and reforge them into a sword and shield, and protect with all the life left within you, so no other must face the same pain." She laughed softly, a laugh with no mirth behind it. "You get to go to your own funeral. You eat, you drink, you wish all your loved ones you know goodbye, you give away any property of yours at that point, and an honor guard places a wine colored shroud over you, before you are whisked away to the Creche." She ended with a heavy sigh. "For ten years we are modded and trained - always knowing that our story ends with the Warp eventually consuming us. But as long as breath rattles in our lungs, we look for a chance to kick the Warp in the teeth and tell it defiantly 'no'."

Kohei, respectfully, allowed the silence that followed her explanation to continue unbroken for a full minute. This was not information made available by the intelligence the Guard had shared, and he doubted it was recorded anywhere other than in the minds of the warrior-women who fought to safeguard the system's future.

"Were you aware that O'Henry was accessing your Army clearance, with your shared gene sequence?"

"She _what_!?"

* * *

 **Terms to know:**

taifeadta: reporter

Fictionalist: writer of fictional stories

Erotica: soft core porn of the literary variety

Rumors manager: gossip column editor

Scribing: writing

Geneseed: DNA

Gene sequence: DNA profile

Leathcheann: dopplegänger, look alike

* * *

 _ **If you notice any misspellings or inaccurate in universe knowlegde, or just want to say hi, feel free to let me know by way of reviews.**_


	13. Chapter 13

Moya laid on her cot, and stared vacantly at the door of her cell. She was bored, beyond bored, with no access to the neosphere or anything since her incarceration a week before. If it wasn't for the chatty brig manager who had brought her meals she'd have nothing to keep her mind occupied. The manager was a pleasant gentleman, who had been surprised that anyone thought his history was interesting, but he would linger as she ate, and tell her about his homeworld, and the traditions that seemed so exotic to the woman he found equally unusual. Moya already had an in-depth report on his homeworld and it's customs ready for the culture department - if the Marines would ever let her access a 'port again. With a sigh she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again Cáel stood before her, like some kind of warpspawn, the burgundy of her Guard uniform harsh against her pale skin. Before Moya could process what she was seeing Cáel grabbed her by the throat and threw her up against the wall, holding her there, her eyes like amber hellfire, her voice as cold and condeming as the wind that howled through the glacial peaks of Dodo.

"Moya O'Henry, you are found guilty of high treason against the Army of Oasis and condemned to die."

"No-!" Moya choked and sat up in her cot, sweating and shaking at the vividness of the nightmare.

"Guilty conscious, O'Henry?" The Guard's cool voice nearly caused the redhead to wet herself. She glared at Cáel, watching her coldly from the other side of the cell door.

"No- and you've been to Auk!" She stated accusingly, noticing her white hair and darkened skin.

"Someone needed to translate for the Legion." Cáel shrugged.

Moya swung her legs off the cot, still glaring.

"You've been to the surface - I've seen picters of you after the Fissure Battle- what were you doing on the surface of Auk?"

"That, my darling little provocateur, is none of your business. Nor," her eyes narrowed, "was my security clearance that you accessed."

Moya, in the middle of opening her mouth to argue snapped it shut and flounced back down on the cot, turning her back to Cáel.

"How long have you been accessing my account, O'Henry?"

Moya ignored her.

"Well, I suppose I have no choice but to leak the results of your gene sequencing to the taifeadta from the Sentinel Tribune." Cáel sighed with a malicious smile.

"You wouldn't!" Moya twisted back around.

"You don't think I wouldn't?" Cáel raised an eyebrow. "How many of your readers, do you think, would like to know you modded yourself out of an ennoblement? "

Moya snorted. "They wouldn't care."

+Ask her about her aunt.+ Yoshi, standing out of Moya's sight whispered in Cáel's mind.

"Really? Not even your aunt?"

Moya stiffened, blanching.

"Oho~ you haven't told her, have you? I wonder what Lady O'Henry would say if she knew her favored niece had taken herself out of the potential pool for future leadership of the clan O'Henry." Cáel smirked.

Moya bowed her head, covering her face with her hands and mumbled something.

"You will have to repeat that, _Adhene._ I am transhuman, not a psyker."

"I said 'since the _Terrible Swift Sword'._ I took it after you had me thrown off the landing deck for the fifth time." Moya repeated testily.

"Count yourself lucky that the Legion found it and not Commadore McCraig. He'd have jettisoned you out an airlock." Cáel retorted sharply, causing Moya to flinch. Yoshi gave Cáel an odd look, for he read real fear when Moya named the Army spaceship. Fear for Moya.

"Oh, whatever, don't pretend you care about me, Cáel." Moya snapped back, an angry tear dripping unheeded down her face.

Cáel sighed, annoyed.

"If you really think I wanted you dead, you're a bigger fool than I gave you credit for, O'Henry." She turned to leave.

"Oh, please save me the maytred act - You've hated me from the beginning!"

Cáel stopped and looked at her.  
"You have enjoyed a great deal of restraint from me since we met on the _Waltzing Lighting._ I have always admired your moxie, child. You were not afraid to ask the hard questions, even though you knew it would make leadership unhappy with you. I keep hoping you will live up to your potential. I keep being disappointed. If I am hard on you, it is because you run right up to the edge of personal greatness, and shy away at the last minute, as if afraid to embrace it." Feeling the need leave before hitting someone, Cáel pivoted and stormed out, her footsteps echoing angrily behind.

In the cell Moya sat down on the edge of her cot and burst into tears.

Yoshi, done retrieving what information he needed from her mind, quietly followed after Cáel.

"Did you get what you needed, Librarian?" She asked several minutes later, in the semi privacy of the lift.

"Yes. She's been accessing you clearance daily since she stole the dataslate."

Cáel furrowed her brow, but said nothing. She didn't need to. Yoshi gave her a sideways look.

"Your mind vacillates between the extremely cooperative and the downright bloody with shocking alacrity."

Cáel shrugged. "I blame the company I keep."

* * *

"I'm compromised. Wholly compromised. O'Henry has been accessing Army Intel for almost 2 years under my clearance. I'm done. You might as well ship me home in an empty crate, Daimyo." Cáel said with a honestly aching heart over the matter.

Kohei, indulging in another round of Go, this time against Tatsuhiro, looked up, surprised at her rather blunt assessment.

"You want to give up your position?"

Cáel tilted her head, confused.  
"This isn't about what I want, sir. This is about the fact I'm a major security breach."

"A breach we have sealed." Kohei appraised her for a long moment. "Do you want to be sent back in disgrace?"

"Of course I don't. The last thing I _want_ is to be sent back to the _Sword._ " Cáel grumbled. "But until the security patch goes through, I can't even access the datafeeds I need to do my job."

"The security patch is already in place on the _Audacious_." Tatsuhiro and Yoshi both heard a tinge of droll humor in the Daimyo's voice. "And we have all the same intelligence as the Creche."

Cáel stared at him for a moment. Yoshi felt her incredulousness.

"Are you saying you... prefer I stay?"

"There is a very old saying in the Mitzu system." The faintest hint of a smile played at his lips. "Better the oni you know."

Cáel looked to Tatsuhiro.  
"What's an oni?"

* * *

Yoshi elected to escort Cáel back to her quarters, as a precautionary measure. Once they left the presence of the other Marines, Yoshi gently touched her mind.

"It's considered more polite to ask out loud, Librarian." Cáel replied, not breaking her stride.

"Apologies. I was not sure you would wish to verbalize your replies." Oddly, the Librarian felt rebuked. Cáel shrugged.

"We," she meant Osasians, "expect that psykers are skimming our thoughts, for most of you it's as instinctual as breathing, but manners," she stopped and stared up at him, "are paramount, be you pysker, transhuman, or a mere mortal. It's our promise to support each other, no matter how un-human we may seem to become."

It struck Yoshi that she had just distilled how the Oasis system managed to survive in one lesson. He bowed to her, Legion style, hands pressed together in front of him, and apologized.

"Don't, please." She looked embarrassed by the gesture. "I'm being unduly hard on you. We have a saying too. We can forgive rudeness in the drunk, children, and foreigners."

"Your duty is to keep us from causing greater misunderstanding. You have a duty to be unduly hard on us." Yoshi politely contradicted her.

"Remind me of that, the next time I anger Kohei." Cáel let out a bark of laughter. "So what was your first question?"

"What happened on the _Terrible Swift Sword_ that caused you to fear for O'Henry?"

"Commadore McCraig." He pulled a sharp image of a man in his fifties with thinning grey hair and flinty green eyes from her mind. "He is quick to assume and quicker to action. I saw him murder a psyker who was in a loud argument with one of his lieutenants. He claimed the psyker was going mad - Motley wasn't, he was a freshfaced kid straight out of the Academicum he'd never dealt with that much negative emotion at once before, and his temper flared when Lt O'Shae tried to make him read the minds of his men to find out who had lost a weapon." Cáel frowned up at the Librarian, and he derived that the order was either illegal, unethical, or possibly both.

"It wasn't madness, and I wasn't fast enough to break it up. Motley Three Toes didn't need to die. It was a waste of a talented young psyker. I told the inquiry board that, but the defense made it out to be about the long standing clash of Guard and Army." Cáel held his eyes with her troubled honey ones. "I even offered to let a member of the Preemptive Strike Force deep read my memory of the incident." Something about the way she said that made Yoshi think the offer had caused her a certain amount of mental anguish. "McCraig would have vacced O'Henry without a second thought and never tell me that I was compromised. And High Command would have allowed it."

"You blame yourself."

"Of course I do. I saw the signs. I knew Motley was struggling to adjust to ship life. But I put more faith in his resiliency than I did in McCraig's twitchy trigger finger. And that I _should_ have known."

"Does it not occur to you that McCraig might not have shot the both of you had you intervened?" Yoshi asked.

"Had he, he wouldn't have lived long enough to make that mistake twice." Cáel retorted with a sour smile. "We carry disrupters shipside, in the Fleet. I would have survived one of those." Not for overly long, he gleaned from her thoughts, but long enough to avenge herself.

Cáel looked down at her boots and sighed. "Your second question?"

"How did O'Henry 'mod herself out of ennoblement'?"

She smiled wryly, looking back up.

"The law is that in order for an Ennobled to serve, they must retain 90 percentile of their birth geneseed. O'Henry's mods put her solidly in the lower 80 percentile - enough to count as human but not enough to hold a government office."

"Why are the laws written that way?"

"Fear, I suppose. Most of the people you meet are unmodded, even the few natural conceived births rarely require more than a small modding to correct any damaged geneseed" Cáel tilted her head. "In system, if you mod more than 40 percentile you cross the legal line into being transhuman. O'Henry got all the legal civilian modding, heightened senses, improved balance and night vision, all the things that could conceivably help an investigative taifeadta."

Yoshi gave her an amused look.  
"And be a greater thorn in your side?"

Cáel snorted. "You said it, not l. What was your last question?"

"Would it be possible for me to attend the Academicum?"

"I can't think of a reason why not." She replied thoughtfully. "Is there some aspect you wish to learn, or simply a tour of the school?"

"I have been charged with learning more about warpsteel." He admitted.

She nodded. "It would behoove the Legion to have at least one person who can work it, you're going to run into it more the longer you're in system. I'll make the appropriate contacts. Anything else?"

"No, I believe that's everything."

"Good. Tatsuhiro owes me a demonstration of those training cages of yours, and I plan to collect."

* * *

Terms to Know:

Taifeadta: in system term for reporter

Academicum school for psykers on Dodo

Warpsteel: in system name for wraithbone

Oni: Mitzu system word for devil

Adhene: Oasian word for brat.

Vacced: Oasian slang term meaning dumped out into space short for 'vacuum'

Modded: slang for modified, always in reference to genetic modification

Ennoblement: the act or condition of being a member of the ruling class

Ennobled: the ruling class

* * *

 _ **Thank you for your continued reading. I'm going to take a couple weeks off as I am in the middle of a move. Please let me know if I misspelled of abused in universe information.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**9 Hours, 43 minutes before**

"That is an order, Colonel!"

"Yes ma'am." Cáel swallowed and looked over at Tatsuhiro.

"I am sorry, Tatsuhiro." Not Taisa, not Ishikawa. Just Tatsuhiro.

"So am I, little sister." He replied.

* * *

 _72 Hours Earlier_

Cáel had an audience. She usually had an audience when she trained, the Marines found it amusing to watch someone as small as her practicing in the training cages, but she did, with both aplomb and grace, holding her own against all but the very highest of settings. She also tended to be very acrobatic in her fighting style, engaging her magboots and fighting from the walls and even the ceiling of the cage. She did this to challenge herself, she claimed, but Tatsuhiro rather suspected it had some real world applications, and had dropped a quiet word to the other captains about training in unusual gravity situations.

Cáel was just finishing one session when Tatsuhiro cornered her coming out of a cage.

"Colonel."

Cáel turned.  
"Is this Army business, Taisa?"

"No."

"Then please, just call me Cáel. We're not big on titles in the Guard. I like to think that fellow transhumans are not too dissimilar."

Tatsuhiro paused, considering the request. It was grossly familiar by Legion standards, but then she had requested it of every Marine, not just him.

"Cáel, " he started anew.

"Yes Taisa?" At least she recognized that such familiarity within the Legion would make him uncomfortable.

"I wish to challenge you to a match."

"No, Taisa. I wish to remain in one piece."

"Not that kind of match." He caught himself smiling slightly at the stout refusal. "It is more a speed challenge. "

"Like a foot race?" She asked.

"Not exactly-"

"Then no. Flattered, honest, but I can't toe to toe with any of you- no Guard can." She cut him off, her tone polite. She wasn't trying to be rude, he recognized.

"Humor me, and hear my explanation."

"Yes, Taisa." She acquiesced.

"The point of the exercise is to leave your mark, your chalk mark, on your opponent." He held up a piece of blue chalk for her to see. "No dismemberment involved."

Cáel looked at the chalk with an unswayed expression.  
"Explain the parameters more. I'm not sure I fully understand. "

Tatsuhiro lead her over to a ring of hard packed earth, 6 meters across and gestured to it.

"The parameters are these: you don't go outside of the ring. No tackling or restraining. The point is not to do physical damage. The chalk is to mark any 'hits' you get on the opponent. This exercise is all about speed and dodging. The bout ends with the first person to get marked."

"That's it?" Cáel took the chalk from his hand. "What about thrown?" She threw the chalk down with a deceptive flick of her wrist. The chalk disintegrated into a puff of blue, and left a dent in the plasteel of the deck. "I know you can throw harder than I."

"No throwing." Tatsuhiro agreed. Cáel eyed him for a moment, clearly not sold on the idea.

"My wager is on the Colonel." Kaede said as Yue, one of Tatsuhiro's subordinates elbowed him.

"Tatsuhiro for the win."

"I suppose if they are already taking bets I can't really say no." Cáel sighed. She stowed her sword as Tatsuhiro began removing his armor.

"No armor?" She asked, her tone mildly curious.

"Not if I wish to keep pace with you." Tatsuhiro chuckled. Under his armor he wore a sleveless chemise, and form fitting shorts.

"I guess I'd better keep things fair." Cáel shed her soft shell battle suit, and boots. She wore a short sleeved chemise and similar shorts, although hers were burgundy to his white. He handed her a second piece of chalk, then they both stepped into the ring.

"Bow to your opponent." Haru took the position of referee, and they bowed to each other, Cáel Oasian style, Tatsuhiro Legion style.

"Ready..." both eased into defensive stances, "Go!"

At first neither of them moved, then there was a blur of motion, as both of them leapt forward, then as impossibly fast jumped away. It wasn't just that the speeds they moved at were inhumanly fast, fighting the inertia to reverse a course was also bordering the limits of what was possible. Tatsuhiro had noticed a pattern in Cáel's fighting technique, one of employing circular motion. It made her look like she was dancing, when she trained, but now, when he most expected to be able to predict her movements from it, she moved in straight lines. She didn't lose any of her innate grace, but now there was an economy motion he had not seen before.

Perhaps that was the point.

Transhuman eyes barely kept up with the combatants, as more Marines joined those watching. There was a brisk laying of new bets with each newcomer although neither Tatsuhiro or Cáel noticed - this was a deadly serious game, and one neither was going to risk with being distracted.

Tatsuhiro was no lumbering ox, like the Guard he moved with his weight in the front of his feet, toes grabbing into the powdery traction of the hard packed earth. Cáel was fast, but so was he, and the longer the bout continued the more he was sure to win it - none of her attempts were landing because of her shorter statue, his long arms on the other hand- she darted to his left and he moved to meet her - they would crash if she didn't change course and he committed to the direction, determined to score a long blue line down her side when she turned away. He earned a lung full of blue chalk dust for his trouble, as she seemed to vanish, and felt his own chalk taken out of his hand. A line from his right hand burning across his skin as she drew one continuous mark along his arm, across his broad back and neatly deposited the chalk in his left hand.

"Point to Cáel." Haru announced, amid startled cheers.

"No, game to the good Taisa," Cáel disagreed, "I cheated."

"How so?" Tatsuhiro asked, wiping the chalk dust off of his face, with a towel another Marine had offered him.

"We agreed to no projectiles. I used the chalk as an aerosol." She explained.

"I don't recall saying you couldn't use the chalk as a diversionary tactic." Tatsuhiro pat her shoulder. "The win goes to you."

"But I-"

"The win goes to you, Guard." Kohei's voice cut through any argument Cáel attempted to mount like rolling thunder. There was silence in the wake of his pronouncement. "You correctly said you could not go toe to toe with any one of us, and as such your tactics must change to include strategies your opponents would not consider."

Cáel closed her mouth and bowed in response. She knew when she was beaten, Tatsuhiro mused. Kohei nodded and moved off, his powersword in hand as he went to find his favorite training cage.

"Good strategy, Cáel. Have you ever played Go?" Tatsuhiro queried, as she collected her things.

"No. I've played checkers a time or two, but someone will have to teach me your game." She shook her head.

"Join us for drinks in an hour, and I'll teach you." He offered generously, making a mental note to ask what 'checkers' were. A slow, wondering sort of smile tugged at her lips.

"You lot drink?" Her tone was teasing, but hinted too at gratitude. "I'll be there."

* * *

It didn't occur to Tatsuhiro until later to ask if Cáel knew where the 'bar' was located, but when she strolled in a little after the prescribed time he welcomed her with a wave. Yoshi was already at the table with him, a Go board set up, and game underway. Nor were they the only ones, dotted around the bar were a number of tables. Roughly a third of them set up with Go boards, although there were also several dice games going on. Tatsuhiro pulled a sitting pillow over for Cáel, piling one on top of another to give her a taller seat at their low (by Astarte standards) table.

"Taisa, Librarian." She smiled and bobbed her head at each of them.

Yoshi glanced up, and nodded.  
"In R&R we use no titles. Here I am just Yoshi."

Cáel glanced at Tatsuhiro, for confirmation.  
"You're comfortable with that?"

"You may call me by my surname, Ishikawa, if Tatsuhiro is too personal." Tatsuhiro explained.

"You get to keep your family names?"

Yoshi detected a light pulse of jealousy, then it was gone, replaced by an older sadness.

"We do, if we have them." Yoshi replied. "I was orphaned before I could speak, I don't have one."

"Oh. We give them up, when we enter the Creche. We then take the name of whichever settlement we are assigned to."

"Is that how you became 'of Sentinel'?" Tatsuhiro placed a saki cup in front of Cáel. It looked like the size of a mixing bowl compared to her, but she raised it to her lips without hesitation, and drank deeply.

"Yes. Huh. What grain is this distilled from?" She looked remarkably unimpressed with the potent brew.

"Rice. Not to your liking?" Yoshi watched as she waved over one of the bar staff.

"It's not bad." She shrugged, then looked at Tatsuhiro. "What would you prefer I call you?" She was, both Marines realized, actually asking if they were on friendly enough terms for her to call him by his use name.

"I would not mind answering to Tatsuhiro." He replied soberly, as the barman brought over three cups, two Astarte sized, and one human sized.

"What's this?"

"Sentinelese jetfuel." Her mouth quirked up into a wry smile. "There's a company that specializes in beverages for transhumans. Ah, it's strong." She tried to warn, as Tatsuhiro drained his cup, then began coughing.

"S-Sol." He looked down at his cup. "What's in it?"

"I have no idea." She admitted, sipping her own cup. "But you might want to eat something to soak it up before your liver tries to process that all in one go."

Yoshi levitated a bowl of rice to their table, already reading a fuzziness settling into Tatsuhiro's thoughts. He sipped from his own cup and found the beverage significantly stronger than even the saki the ship brewed for the Marines.

"I question if this is something that can even be imbibed by non-transhumans." Yoshi mused.

"Ach no, it would kill them. There was an incident several decades back when some collegic kids accidentally received a keg of this instead of the beer they ordered - they diluted it by a factor of 4 and it still sent all of them to apothacarion." Cáel elucidated as Tatsuhiro dug into the rice.

"So some things are the same anywhere you go in the galaxy." Jun laughed, stopping at the table and nodding at the gathering. "There was a similar incident on Hydraphur," Tatsuhiro and Yoshi both groaned, remembering the incident, "where patrol came back with six of the dock workers who had been drinking wine that had been special ordered for Leman Russ."

"I don't know that name."

"Primarch Leman Russ, of the Space Wolves." Yoshi glanced up at Tatsuhiro, "you did not call her a Space Wolf," he frowned, picking up from Cáel her only reference she had for the Space Wolves.

"He only asked if I was secretly one." Cáel grinned wickedly. "And it was a fair question under the circumstances."

"Can I hear this story?" Jun asked.

"Best get the story from the horse's mouth." Tatsuhiro recommended, and a sitting cushion slid over to Jun seemingly of its own volition. Jun sat down opposite Cáel, who waited for him to get comfortable before launching into her story.

Storytelling in any system was considered an art form, and Oasis was no different. As Cáel recounted the story Tatsuhiro was struck by two things - first, how factual she kept the narrative, and second, how much she down played her role in everything except her joyride through the taifeadta's equipment. Jun laughed at her description of the destruction she wreaked -all to protect the honor of the Legion- she assured them. Even Yoshi, lightly skimming her thoughts as he and Tatsuhiro continued their game, smiled at points.

"So what happened after that?" Tatsuhiro turned to meet her gaze. "You did say you would relate that tale."

"I did." Cáel agreed. "But I need a favor from Yoshi if I do so."

"And what might that be?" Yoshi asked, finding her thoughts suddenly muddled, as if seen through a thick gauze.

"You call me out if I begin to exaggerate."

"I can do that." The Librarian nodded.

* * *

Terms to Know

Magboots: boots with powerful magnets in them, allowing the wearer to keep contact with a deck in low to micro gravity situations

R&R: literally, rest and relaxation. The Legion uses the term to identify the deck where Marines might enjoy a little down time.

* * *

 ** _A slight change in plans. I was going to up load this as one giant chapter but my 'editor' recommended against it. If you don't like this particular narrative device, let me know. As always, please feel free to contact me about misspelling, inaccurate use of in universe terms or tech, or just to say hi._**

 ** _And thank you for reading._**


	15. Chapter 15

_6 days ago_  
Green eyes glittered from behind a curtain of messy black hair. Dances Like Falling Leaves stared hard at the human woman, -transhuman woman, she corrected herself. The dataslate handed around to her Guard sisters had been unequivocal, this woman had taken her modding well past the legal limits, and with no patron Lord or military leash, she was a time bomb waiting to go off. Better she be collected now and sent to the off world re-engineering camp closely monitored by the Army, than left to wreak havoc on Auk.

"I don't like this." Enya, beautiful blond Enya with curves most human Guards lost in the modding process muttered, sitting next to her Creche-sister. Of all of them she had tested highest for intuition, but just under the threshold to be considered psyker. It happened sometimes, the modding process accidentally produced psykers, but Enya's talent wasn't strong or reliable enough to be worth training past the regular safeguards against the corrupting powers of the Warp.

 _There are seven of us, Jumps With Purpose. There is nothing to fear._ Leaves reassured her.

"I know, I just don't like this." Enya grimaced, shifting in her seat. Three transhumans, four transkru made up the transport team, taking the prisoner from the Aukkian subcity Tristan to the rendezvous point. With the exception of their pilot, Challenges The Thunder, this was their first assignment, and the newly minted Guard wanted desperately for this assignment to go off well.

 _Unless you have a specific threat to be addressed, Sister, we can linger no longer._ Thunder whistled from the cockpit, flipping switches as part of her preflight routine. Enya sighed, and Leaves pat her reassuringly on the shoulder.

The thrusters of the vessel roared to life and they rose smoothly, through the thick spray and steam, out beyond the city's hydro slip and like a geyser out of the ice crevasse. With an expert tug on the controls the transport veered off, skimming over the glacial skin of Auk in the upper reaches of the ice planet's thin atmosphere.

In four hours they would arrive at the rendezvous. Four hours of speeding over some of the most inhospitable environment the planet had to offer - Enya studied her sisters, forcing the shadows of doubt out of her mind.

Dances Like Falling Leaves was the tallest aboard, taller than even the Grand Dame and certainly on par with any Adeptus Astartes. Her aquamarine feathers lay flat, except for the single row of crest feathers, a duskier shade of blue slightly flared in her excitement of _finally_ doing something. Sitting opposite her, behind the prisoner's transport cage, was Tegwan, the shortest member of their group, a redhead with more freckles than common sense sometimes. Sings In The Calm, Tegwan's Creche-mate sat opposite Enya, her mauve and amethyst feathers laying flat. Of all the Guard she was the slowest to anger, and the quickest to find her own inner peace. Enya still marveled how well they worked together in practical exercises. The four of them sat facing the prisoner, each from a different corner. The remaining pair manned the transport's weaponry, mounted plasma cannons on either side of the vessel. Sapphire and grey plumbed Runs Towards Fire sat starboard while sharp eyed Cerridwen scoured the skies portside.

Enya should have been reassured.

Instead her anxiety grew the longer they stayed airborne. If it wasn't her duty to keep watch on the prisoner she would have paced. As it was by the end of the first hour she was sweating. By the end of the second, a tremor had developed in her left hand, and Leaves reached over to still it.

The touch only strengthened the sensation of dread, and wordlessly she pleaded with Leaves, clutching to her Creche-mate's hand.

 _Challenges the Thunder, something is wrong. Is there someplace we can put down?_ Leaves asked.

 _We are hours from any settlement, Sister. We would be better served to keep going._ Thunder trilled back.

Enya licked her lips, and tried to form words, "Pl-please st-st-"

An explosion ripped through the fuselage. Spinning out of control, Thunder slammed the auto eject. Enya screamed as Leaves was ripped away from her, and for a moment, the extra g forces caused her to black out.

* * *

"And I thought our training was rough." Jun commented as Tatsuhiro and Yoshi regarded Cáel with open disbelief.

"You blew up a transport, a transport you were in, as part of a test?" Tatsuhiro managed.

"I revise my earlier comment. Suggesting you might be a Space Wolf is by no means an insult. It's an understatement." Yoshi murmured dryly, taking another swig of his drink.

Cáel shook her head. "Friends, there's the theoretical, and then there's the practicum. Isn't that what the Ultramar's Primarch writes?"

"You have read Primarch Guilliman's treaties on warfare?" Yoshi blinked, once again tripped up by the direction her thoughts took.

"I had twenty and one days to fill, waiting for your Daimyo to acknowledge me. It seemed like relevant reading." Cáel shrugged.

"So what happened then?" Jun prodded, impatient for the rest of the story.

* * *

It was cold.  
It was also very bright.  
Then the pain hit, the sensation of abraided and damaged nerves screaming like a newborn, howling at the indignanty of being forced out of the only world it had ever known.

Runs Towards Fire sat up with a groan and looked around, then whistled a string of words the Creche instructors would have punished her for uttering in the presence of others. Gingerly, for her body was still healing from the battering of ejection and rough landing, she unbuckled her harness and stood. Ice crunched underfoot, and went in all directions as far as she could see. She flared her crest feathers in annoyance. Her burgundy battlesuit was torn on her left leg, letting the cold seep in, her leg feathers already blanching from the exposure to the Oasis's solar radiation. She searched for her helmet, finding it packed with her volter in the carryspace under her jettisoned seat. Pulling it on she engaged her vox.

"Cerri?" Fire took great pride in her ability to speak Gothic- all transkru in the Guard strove to speak passably the human tongue but her modding had given her a little something extra, and for all but a few words she could pass her words off as spoken by a human.

"I'm here, Fire." Her Creche-mate sounded tired.

"Report."

"Transport crashed. I've made contact with Leaves, Tegwan and Calm. We can't raise Enya or Thunder."

"Thunder may have tried to ride out the crash. I'll search for Enya, she could be out of vox range."

"Understood. We're heading for the crash site. I'm sending over the coordinates." A datafeed popped up in the bottom corner of of her visor.

"Got it. Run fast, run silent, Cerri."

"And may the galaxy guide you home." Cerridwen replied, finishing the traditional farewell.

Fire looked down at the tear in her battlesuit again, then looked closer at the clean cut. Anything sharp enough to rip through the micro-mail should have damaged the leg beneath, but her left calf was uninjured, and there was no debris clinging to the tear, as one might expect, if the damage had come from being dragged over rough ground.

Instinctively she checked her weapons. Her volter was there, along with her bag of tricks, but her sonic knife, given upon their leaving of the Creche, was missing.

 _Looking for this, hatchling?_

Fire looked up to see a human woman with storm grey hair in a yellow prison shift standing a mere three meters away. Then her gaze fell on the sonic knife in the woman's hand, before snapping back to the feral green eyes half hidden by that slowly blanching to pure white hair.

A growl erupted from her throat, inarticulate anger - how dare that transhuman trash! She drew her volter but the other was already upon her, sonic blade slashing across the back of her hand, causing her to drop her volter in pain and a shower of blood. Only Fire's reflexes saved her from losing use of the hand entirely. With a blindingly fast motion the prisoner kicked the volter well away.

Hundreds of hours of training kicked in and Fire lashed out, blocking the seemingly wild slashing by the prisoner, although each block was hard won and as often as not resulted in additional nicks and scratches that soon had her battlesuit in tatters around her wrists. Worst, none of her counter strikes seemed to be landing, the prisoner dancing just out of reach at the critical moment. How was it that a smaller untrained opponent could be punishing her like this? Fire wondered ceding yet another step back across crackling ice. Growling she changed tactics, using to her longer, much stronger legs, first to leg sweeping the prisoner, knocking her to the ground, then going for the kill with an ax kick.

Except the prisoner was no longer splayed out by her kick.

And her powerful blow smashed through the thin ice pan over a deep crevasse.

With a high pitched shriek Fire tumbled to the bottom of the crack in the glacial ice. Battered and bruised she lay at the bottom of the crevass for a long moment, too stunned to do anything other than watch as the prisoner tossed something after her.

Fire flinched, at first mistaking it for a grenade, but when it didn't explode she squinted, and identified it as a beacon canister. Hand trembling, she reached for it. The moment her gloved fingers touched the canister her visor went black and the voice of the Grand Dame filled her ears.

"Your final test is over, Daughter."

* * *

"Is she telling the truth, Yoshi?"

More Marines gravitated to their table during the tale. Tatsuhiro counted eleven newcomers listening in.

"Aside from what she actually called the Kru Guard, nothing she has said has been untrue."

Cáel grinned at the questioning looks she got. "What I actually called Runs Towards Fire is not something to be repeated in mixed company, gentlemen." Chivalry, it appeared, could go both ways in this system.

"Did you not say there were six Guard? What happened to the rest of them?" Tatsuhiro inquired.

* * *

Tegwan hissed and dropped, making herself small against the fresh snowfall. Since that garbled kru-shriek that abruptly cut off she was hyper alert pushing her augmented senses to their fullest as she made for the crashsite. Cerridiwen had reported losing contact with Runs Towards Fire, and Dances Like Falling Leaves recommended radio silence until they reached the crash, a decision Tegwan resented more and more. As far as she was concerned, they were down three of the team - neither Challenges the Thunder nor Enya responded to vox pings. And now she was postive she was being followed. The ice moved almost imperceptibly, but she felt the micromovement in her feet, and the vibrations, although constant were not all from natural sources.

There was someone out there with her.

The wind began to pick up again, blowing the powdery snow about, hampering her heat vision and rendering her visual acuity near useless. She checked her coordinates versus those of the crash site again. One kilometer was all that lay between her and a defensible position. One kilometer over crackling ice. She closed her eyes and sought to feel any vibration with the whole of her body. Glacial creep filled her mind and she sensed nothing but wind and snow.

"Enjoying your nap?" Someone whispered, nearby. Tegwan spun upright in one fluid motion, a technique the Creche taught for frictionless environs, to get the drop on those attempting to ambush a prone Guard. It usually worked well, it usually threw a would be attacker off guard, but, that would require the presence of an attacker. Out here, Tegwan was alone with with snow and moaning wind.

"Show yourself! I know you are out here!"

Tegwan took deep breaths, running through the centering exercise Sings in the Calm had taught her. She was wound too tight, Enya's bad feeling and Fire's sudden disappearance, to say nothing of their transport suddenly exploding midflight all adding to a negative feedback cycle.

The wind continued to blow, thowing flurries of snow ever skyward. Slowly she got her heart rate down, and as she relaxed she straightened up, holstering her volter.

"I really am losing it." She muttered, pivoting toward the crash. Someone was standing directly behind her.

"Not exactly." Green eyes crinkled at her as she was shoved hard. Tegwan started to fall back on her butt, then got a leg under her and leapt forward, grabbing for her volter-

Her volter, which was in the prisoner's hands as she fired a shot at point blank range.

Cáel took Tegwan's knife as well as her volter, leaving a beacon canister next to the temporarily immobilized Guard, before turning and disappearing barefoot into the gathering snowstorm.

* * *

Cáel paused in her storytelling, and attempted to cover her pause with a sip of her drink, although more than a few Marines noted the quick survey she took of the room. Yoshi laid down his game piece, then met Tatsuhiro's gaze.

+The taifeadta.+

It was decided to allow Moya to return to her duties aboard the _Audacious_. The Guard was adamant that Moya not be sent back to her last post, embedded on the _Terrible Swift Sword_ and given how long the security patch would take to make it through through the fleet, releasing her to the Army meant there was no guarantee that she wouldn't try accessing their intel as 'Cáel' from another source. Grudgingly, Cáel had agreed, but now more than ever she was cautious about sharing anything in the vicinity of the taifeadta.

"Is there more?" Another Marine asked.

"Some other time, perhaps. I was invited to learn this game, not to bore you with the pastimes of Guards." Cáel demurred with a polite smile. The Marines recognized the dismissal for what it was, and slowly began departing, eventually leaving Moya without any cover. She glared at Cáel then went to the bar.

"You have an enemy in that one." Jun noted.

"If she wants an enemy she should look elsewhere." Cáel replied blithly. "It's unsporting to fight those who come to a battle unarmed."

Yoshi favored her with a long look, then declared a forfeit. "Tatsuhiro has me in three moves anyhow." He nodded at Tatsuhiro.


	16. Chapter 16

_10 hours before_  
"You have never trained Oasian recruits- it's not that they don't know how to fight- they don't fight! We're a pacifist society, we teach our children to use their words, and when words aren't enough, to dance out their aggression. We're not a warrior culture! It's antithetical to everything in us. That carrier doesn't have untrained recruits, it's carrying scared kids. You _have_ to send me." Cáel argued.

Kohei glared at her.

"No."

* * *

 _69 hours before_  
Cáel picked up the principles of the game quickly enough, although being unfamiliar with proscribed strategies her tactics were as haphazard as they were entertaining. While he played the first few games against her Yoshi politely refrained from reading her thoughts, but once she started her round against Jun he shamelessly dipped in, curious about the strategy she was employing.

Pain supernovaed in his jaw and there was a tremendous crash that, only after a hazy moment he recognized as being the sound he made, toppled backwards. Others' thoughts crowded into his own making his vision swim, before he realized Cáel was standing over him, Tatsuhiro grabbing her raised fists and pulling her off of him.

"What are you doing?" The question seemed to resound from all sides, but it was Cáel white hot anger that centered him, and gave him focus as other Marines helped him up.

"All you have to do is ask, I've told you that!" Cáel shouted at him, pouring her anger, and her fear, strong fear, into her words as she was pulled back, not fighting the Astartes who physically restrained her. Fear now over took anger, fear and... shame. Yoshi flinched as his battle brothers thoughts turned murderous.

+Hold.+ He blanket sent the thought to the room, the power of the unspoken command enough to cause all of them to check themselves for a single heartbeat.

"Stand down." He winced as talking was made painful by the blow he had taken to his right cheek. "She's in the right. My actions are responsible."

"She attacked you, unprovoked, and yet you are protecting her? Can't you see what she is?" Moya's sharp words cut through the mental chatter filling his head.

Cáel said nothing in her defense, her gaze squarely on her mag boots. But he could hear her mentally begging him not to tell Moya the truth he had stumbled upon.

Yoshi, Librarian of the Legion II, premier psyker of the Emperor's Wrath, looked down at Moya, his face impassive even as he felt the pulverized bone healing from the considerable strength of the Guard's punch.

"This is Legion business, and it is past time for you to go."

Moya turned without a word, and like a sleepwalker left the 'bar'.

The Marines turned their attention to Cáel, who openly wore her shame for them. Without is word Yoshi picked her up by the collar of her battlesuit and calmly walked out of the bar.

* * *

"Everyone out." Yoshi's order was swiftly followed as all the medicae left the apothacarion. Yoshi placed Cáel on a triage table, then stared hard at her. Cáel sank to her knees, and sat like that, looking extremely forlorn.

"You say I need only to ask. So I am asking. Will you allow me to deep scan you?"

Cáel flinched, confirming what he only suspected until now. She knew her mind had been tampered with.

"I don't know if I can." She held up one hand, begging his indulgence. "I can let you in only so far. After that..."

"There is a wall with triggers that react with violence if someone tries to broach it." He finished for her.

"Yes, sir."

"You are a lethal threat, Guard." They both knew he had seen her train, he knew what she was capable of. "I must know that you have not been tampered with in such a manner that a random psyker can set you off."

"It's not like that. I'll always know who's inside my head. The trigger will _always_ respond to the person who crosses that line." She protested.

"How is that possible? You've said you weren't a psyker." Yoshi demanded.

"I'm not. I'm not sure what I would be called in Gothic- but we're all augmented in the Creche, our psykers change the structure of our brains to better ward off the Warp."

She looked scared now, and he read fear, not for herself but for the Guard, and their secrets.

"Let me in. Let me see the nature of the mind sculpting you have undergone."

Cáel shuddered.

"I can't promise I won't lash out if you try to breech that wall."

"I'm ready for it this time." He informed her dryly.

With a great many reservations she nodded. Before she could change her mind, he was inside it, examining the length and depth of the changes she had willing undergone.

* * *

 _66 hours ago_

Cáel was exhausted. Yoshi wasn't much better, holding her arms to her side, after his repeated mind scans took him past the psychic wall, tripping every safeguard in place. Out of respect for her he hadn't even touched on her memories, not that her pre-augemented memory would have explained much of what she had undergone.

+I'm done now. I'm leaving.+ He got the briefest of flashes of someone nodding as he carefully withdrew, leaving the structures he found in place. He'd seen that 'other' before, and at first assumed they were echoes of the psyker who had made those intricate structural changes. But now he wasn't so sure, as he monitored her surface thoughts for any lingering effects of his prolonged presence.

"Librarian," Cáel croaked, her hands still locked in their death grip to his armored forearms. "Librarian, I'm going to be ill." Yoshi swiftly sidestepped as the meager contents of her stomach made their reappearance - tired as he was he did have enough mental strength left to scoot a glasslined pail across the room keep the vomit from going everywhere. Cáel coughed and collapsed back on the triage table, deathly pale under her dark tan.

"I'm going to call the medicae back in. I want them to check you over." Yoshi continued, and ignored the slight sense of guilt he had. Cáel only lashed out when he deliberately triggered her defenses, and tried to fight against those reactions when she knew what he was doing. It had taken a toll on her, one he was honestly surprised to see. She might not like him much now, but at no time did her dislike of him take precedence over to her intention to protect him, even from herself.

"Would you mind filling out the medical leave waivers for me?" She managed despite not moving otherwise. Yoshi smiled wanly at the attempt at humor. He called the medicae back in and stood to one side as they hurried to her table.

Someone handed him a rejuv bag, a bag of water mixed with electrolytes and calories and a few vital minerals to help replenish those he consumed during the long hours of mental work. He drank it down in one gulp, and felt the curative properties spread throughout his system.

He needed to meditate on what he found. He dearly would have loved a nap, but Kohei would be expecting an explanation, since they had passed in the hall, while he carried the rather flustered Colonel by the collar. Kohei hadn't said anything at the time, but then he didn't need to. Yoshi, once assured that Cáel wasn't going to lash out at the medicae, left to muddle through what he had learned, so as to best express it to a Marine with no psyker training.

* * *

 _59 hours ago_

"Captain?"

Hanaringo ganced at the nepilla, and the Navigator staring at the readout from the systems vast network. She had become talented over the past four years, at reading the hard data from the system sensors and comparing it to the subtle currents in the ever changing warpstorm ringing the system.

"Report, Navigator."

"Something is coming out of the storm behind us. Several somethings."

"Do we recognize them?"

"Not yet, but the Premptive Strike Force is monitoring this closely." The Army's psyker unit tended to be slightly topheavy with divination psykers, or Preceps, in the local slang.

"Slow our speed to half, and continue monitoring th situation." Hanaringo wasn't given much to hunches, but this time he would've put money on it. He contacted the Kohei.

"Daimyo? Is this a good time?"

* * *

 _32 hours ago_

"Does anyone have eyes on the Colonel?" Tatsuhiro's irritated voice broke over the common vox channel.

"She's in training cage 279, sir." Tatsuhiro didn't recognize the voice that replied, but he was grateful that someone was keeping an eye on her.

"Do you want me to get her attention?"

"No, I'm almost there. Thank you." Tatsuhiro swept into the training galley, his displeasure giving his feet the speed he needed. Cáel was not answering her vox, and she was needed. He located cage 279 and hit the exterior terminus.

"Oi!" Cáel turned, then snapped to attention recognizing Tatsuhiro. "Taisa. How may I help you?" Her voice was cordial enough, although he could see lines of impatience in how she held her shoulders.

"You may start by leaving your vox on. We require your presence on the bridge." Tatsuhiro tempered the retort he was planning when he saw her fight. There was nothing joyful in this practice, none of the usual grace in her attacks. This was a hard slog, and at the highest setting she sported several half healed slashes across her face.

"I'm on my way." She was out of the cage and scooping up her helmet with her usual speed.

"Walk with me." Tatsuhiro requested. Cáel fell in beside him, silent in her step.

"Why are you punishing yourself, Cáel of Sentinel?" He asked as they moved, at a near trot, through the hall toward the lift.

"I endangered Yoshi." They stopped only to wait for the lift.

"He'll live."

"Only because I was unarmed." Without explicitly stating it, she acknowledged the wisdom of the Legion's disarmament policy. "I was weak. I need to train. To exhaustion."

"Why to exhaustion?" They entered the lift, which was empty.

"I can't access the _t_ _eallach_ as long as I'm fresh." She stated as if that explained everything. Maybe it would have, to Yoshi. Tatsuhiro started to ask what that was, when the lift opened, onto the lower access of the bridge. Cáel stepped out and Tatsuhiro hurried after.

"Colonel Cáel." The name was spoken in a high pitched squeak, indicative that the speaker was not human, but Kru. The main screen was filled with the image of an orange and yellow Kru in Army blues. Cáel presented herself front and center, with a deep bow.

"General Strikes On The Wind."

The general erupted in a series of whistles and clicks. Cáel snapped at attention, face expressionless as the tirade continued. None of the crew or Marines knew what was being said, but a dressing down didn't need to be translated to be understood.

"Yes sir. It won't happen again." Cáel replied mildly, when he finished. Mild, but she remained rigidly at attention.

"See that it doesn't." The General also switched to Gothic. "Dai-myo, we have a problem."

"The three ships that came out of the warp?"

"No. The five ships. Two more slipped past earlier." General Wind.

"How?" Kohei asked, from his position on the high deck.

"Cloaking tech. The Colonel can explain." Gothic did not come easily for the General, but rather than relying on Cáel to translate, he persisted in the human tongue. Kohei wondered if the general realized his action could be taken as a sign of military distrust of their liaison. "They have already taken a troop convoy captive."

"A troop convoy? Why did they not fight?" Kohei asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"The convoy carries recruits."

Cáel lost control of her composure, strickened, as she turned to look at Kohei.

"What can we do for you, General?"

General Wind sighed.

"We need your Marines. For a rescue. For suppression. My special forces have failed. Please." General Wind replied. "Data packet being sent." On the bridge, a smaller screen appeared, data streaming.

"We will be there."

* * *

Term to know:

Teallach: the psychic center of a Guard's mind


	17. Chapter 17

_18 Hours Before_

"Let me put it this way, Daimyo. If I had not worked out as your liaison, the next Guard you would have seen would not have been a liaison, nor would she have been alone." Cáel stated matter of factly into the vox, as she stared at Tatsuhiro's red and silver armor.

"Is that a threat, Colonel?"

Cáel laughed. "No, sir, that is a statement of fact."

* * *

 _32 Hours Before_

Kohei signaled to Cáel, after the General cut communication.

"Colonel." He pointed to where he was standing. Quickly, she joined the Marines on the upper deck.

"I do not suppose you could tell us about cloaking tech?" Kohei remarked, unruffled by the exchange.

"Y-yes sir, cloaking tech," they could tell she was rattled, badly, by the revelation of the transport's cargo. Kohei stopped her with a finger to her forehead.

"Colonel, ground yourself. Think more with this," he poked her head lightly, "and less with this." He tapped her battlesuit directly over her heart. Cáel took a deep breath, nodding.

"Yes, Daimyo." Her cheeks flared red. It embarrassing enough to be chastized for her absence by General Wind, but Kohei's remarkably gentle admonishment was almost more than she could bear, for he was correct. She took one more breath, then launched into her explanation.

"It's been theoretized for well over a century, but we've only encountered it twice in the last decade, thrice now." She corrected herself. A pause, a deep breath, still fighting to find her calm. "We don't know how they are doing it, everything the Mechanichi have tried to produce in theoretical fails in the practical." She fell back on the words of another leader, finding her center and explanation in that turn of phrase.

"Your Mechanichi are renown for their feats of backwards enginnering." Kohei noted.

"One has to have some scrape of technology to backwards engineer." There was no sardonic tone sheathing her words, merely soft truth. "The attacking xenos have each time caused their vessels to self destruct, tying their vessels fate to their own bio signs." She fell silent for a moment. "We have lost too many to chasing that technology. The Mechanichi work on other ways to locate what is hidden. The Preceps watch the Storm, and we fight." Steady once again she met his gaze.

"You do not fight alone, Colonel." Kohei rumbled, less like low thunder, curiously reassuring. "These cloaked xenos, are they the same species each time?"

Cáel nodded, and gestured to the hololithic projector. "In the past, aye. May I?" The first mate nodded and stepped aside for her. Cáel's fingers flew over the control panel, pulling up a picter of a short, but human-sized biped with an over long nose and pointed ears. "They are very mechanical minded, and seem partly bionic, although we have not recovered enough bodies to tell if that is something cultural or the results of injury. Nor, for that matter, have we encountered any females of the species, which is rather odd when you compare their geneseed to that of an unmodded human." She pulled up two double helixes for side by side comparison.

"Those are very similar." Tatsuhiro noted uneasily.

"There is a mid 80 percentile comparability - given these xenos have been caught scanning the Genebanks, there are many in Creche leadership who think they might be trying to make off with our own geneseed or technology to deal with some lack within their own society." She dared to look up at Kohei. "If they are taking recruits alive, we must consider that there are two possibilities. They are looking for slaves or they are taking them for their genetic potential."

"How do you know they aren't cannibalistic, and like orks have only one gender?" Manzo asked.

Cáel shuddered.  
"We don't. That's certainly another, but equally unpleasant option." She conceded. "But they die as easily as humans, so fighting them isn't nearly as oppressive as fighting greenskins."

"You've fought them?" Roka asked as Kohei raised any eyebrow.

"Lost my left arm to them, when their ship blew. It took me three months to grow it back." She grimaced.

"What's your practical analysis of these xenos, in fighting them?" Kohei inquired.

"Treat them as if they are fast humans. Their warriors will be augmented with bionics," she overlaid the geneseed images with a series of bionic implants. "They don't use power armor, like you, but soft shell of miniplating," a suit of scale appeared on the projection. "The real danger is their use of remotely controlled automatas." The image of an arachnid shaped ceramite plated automata popped up as her fingers skimmed lightly over the control. "Volters and disrupters work equally well against the automata, your bolters should have no trouble. What I cannot emphasize enough, is the speed they will engage with, if you corner their warriors."

"How fast is that?"

Cáel thought for a moment.

"High range on the training cages. The difference is you can sustain those speeds, they cannot." Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. "I learned the longer a close combat encounter lasted, the better the result was for me."

"Weapons?" Roka wanted to know.

"Arc plasma swords. Las pistols. The automata use a basic form of bolter, and of course their arc plasma blades. Avoid breaking the pommels of their swords, they go off with the strength of a percussion grenade." More images of weapons popped up, and Tatsuhiro watched as she complied everything into a new data program, along with descriptions and weapons statistics.

"Colonel, do you have reason to believe these xenos are arriving to Oasis by design?" Shinta asked thoughtfully.

"I..." Cáel hesitated, clearly troubled by the question. "If they have a means of travel and communication through the Storm, I swear on the Grand Dame I will get that technology to you." She made a point of meeting each one of their gazes. "Currently we have no reason to believe that they know of our existence before they come out of the Storm. But... taking kids captive, that suggests long term plans." Her concern furrowed her brow.

"Packet decoded, Daimyo." Hanaringo handed Kohei a dataslate. He placed the slate into one of the indents on the frame of the hololithic projector and the data streamed across the projection.

"Looks like your xenos are back, Colonel."

* * *

 _31 hours before_

Kohei dismissed all of them, sending his captains and taisas to choose and brief five squads in preparation to take back the transport vessel. He had even taken the time to order Cáel to get some rest - he didn't know what she was attempting to do, nor did he care, he simply wanted all his assets at the top of their game. Alone now, at the hololithic projector he scrolled slowly through all the data they had about the situation. The Army had really screwed up their rescue mission, destroying instead of disabling the ships the invading xenos had used, forcing them to make the transport their last stand. The xenos took control of the helm and were heading with all speed towards the warpstorm, and the three ships that had emerged several hours before.

Hanaringo waited politely, knowing Kohei would have orders for him as well.

"What are your thoughts, Captain?"

"About what, sir?"

"Do you think these xenos have some means of breaching the Storm?"

"If they do, we won't be long for this system." Like the Astates, Hanaringo too longed to be away from the Oasis system. But his reasoning was different, he had a wife back home.

"Can we trust them to share that technology?" Kohei mused.

Hanaringo blinked.

"I can think of at least one Oasian who will get that technology to you."

Kohei smiled wryly.  
"She is impulsive, but I find myself believing her oath. Is her willingness to help us because we are so problematic, or does she actually seek to help us, help ourselves?"

"I am privy to no thoughts other than my own, Daimyo. But she has been nothing but supportive. Perhaps, perhaps she... sees a kinship in you?" Hanaringo suggested quietly.

Kohei surprised him with a chuckle.  
"What a strange family we must make."

* * *

 _29 Hours Before_

Tatsuhiro compared his choices with Manzo, and was unsurprised to find their choices were almost identical. They only differed on their third choice, but Manzo approved of his reasoning.

Like their counterparts in the second division Roka and Shinta had two alternatives for their third choice. Kohei received their selections and allowed each captain to explain about why those squads would be the best choice for this venture. Ultimately he chose Shinta's choice for the fifth squad, then gave his blessings on the rest of the choices.

"You shall need these." Kohei began distributing oaths of the moment, handing a sixth one to Tatsuhiro.

"Sir?"

"For the Colonel. Perhaps she will behave better if she knows what we expect of her."

* * *

Term to know:

Mechanichi: the Oasis system's answer to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Having no contact with Mars, they have become experts of back enginnering of technology that survives the trip through the warp.

* * *

 **Apologies for short chapter, I'm still in the process of moving. As always, feel free to correct me in anything I might have gotten wrong.**


	18. Chapter 18

_22 hours before_  
Yoshi looked up suddenly, and watched a power suited person enter the bridge. Kohei glanced over, then did a double take.

"Colonel." Yoshi nodded at Cáel. She gave an elegant dip of her head in response as Kohei scrutinized her.

"You look like Eldar." Kohei remarked, and Tatsuhiro, going through the lastest data burst, turned to look at her, as did the rest of the bridge.

"I do not know that term." She replied in greeting, carrying her helmet, dressed not in the royal blue Army battlesuit they had come to know, but finely wrought burgundy power armor. It was shaped like form fitting plate, and intricately detailed scrollwork -triskelions, Tatsuhiro corrected himself. There was no Army device on her shoulder, no devices at all, but then, there no doubting what this was. This was power armor of the Guard.

Kohei was correct, Tatsuhiro realized uneasily, as he was finally able to give name to the troubling feeling that had bothered him since the _Farthest Shore._ She looked and moved with all the grace of that race, and the organic lines of the armor only served to accentuate the likeness. No longer less half Kohei's height, she stopped before the Daimyo, almost as tall as his chest plate, eyes dancing with mirth. So she had intended to surprise them with the suit. Likely, then she had no idea the implication of Kohei's comment.

"They are a race of xenos we battle with at times." Kohei explained with a grunt.

Cáel laughed easily.

"We have much in common then."

"Not too much, I hope." Tatsuhiro murmured. Eldar were as hateful as they were graceful. Several Imperium worlds had been destroyed by one maurading group of Eldar his Legion had been sent to eradicate. He still missed his squad brothers.

Yoshi, dressed for battle, but not planning on leaving the ship, also studied the powersuit.

"Where did they find enough warpsteel to make your suit?" He asked bluntly, his senses now attuned to the metal, singing in the presence of that much warpsteel.

"On Dodo, at the Academicum." She faced him with an easy smile, but her mind warned him off of delving too deeply into the suit with his inner sight. He got the impression doing so would be painful for him. This close to combat, he refrained, although he fully intended to scry the suit at a later date.

"I spoke with Lord McCaffery, " she continued, "and he has expressed delight at being asked to introduce you to the Academians."

"My gratitude, then." Yoshi nodded.

"Why have I not seen this before?" Tatsuhiro asked quietly.

"It only arrived two hours ago." She smiled ruefully.

"Have you had a chance to train in it?" The last thing Tatsuhiro was about to do was allow anyone on his team commit to action in unfamiliar tech.

"Some."

"Recently?"

"For the past hour."

"You are cutting it awfully close, Guard." Kohei grumbled.

"The Grand Dame has faith in me, she sent the armor. Can you not do the same?" There was no anger in her question, a merely a bemused acceptance of Kohei's stubbonness.

"I have faith in you, Cáel of Sentinel. I have absolute faith that you will find the largest thing to fight in the shortest period of time." Kohei retorted, but without malice, waving his command over to the hololithic projector. Kohei must have finally read her personnel file, then, Tatsuhiro thought. Tatsuhiro certainly had.

She laughed, and joined them, standing next to Tatsuhiro.

Four ships were projected, early scans of the latecomers ships, and a detailed schematic of the hijacked transport.

"We're going to disable and board the xenos ships." Kohei announced enlarging those vessels. Two of the ships bristled with weapons, the third had the lines of a transport vessel. The projection blinked and resolved sharper with a wave of new data. Cáel and Tatsuhiro frowned, but Roku spoke first.

"Those are slavers."

"I think it's safe to assume they know you are here, Colonel."

"Not necessarily. We've had Seed ships come through the Storm."

"What are Seed ships?"

"Terraforming ships. They change dead worlds into habitable planets, all by automata. Colony ships are supposed to follow a century later."

"And those ships showed up when?"

"Roughly eight centuries ago. The colonists never did, and we used the supplies to stabilize Wren, the settlement moon of Typhun."

"You're tangenting again." Kohei warned, adding a runic glyph next to each of the xeno ships. "These are the squads that are going to take each vessel." The squad leaders in question leaned in, as the projection updated again, interior rooms beginning to resolve themselves. "Avoid killing all the xenos." He added absently, as if an afterthought. "I want these ships as intact as possible."

"If I may," Kohei nodded at Cáel. "High Command would like a ranking officer for their psykers to interrogate. If it's possible. Sometimes they will suicide rather than be taken alive."

"Is that common, Colonel?" Chul, one of the squad leaders asked.

"I don't know how common it is, but I lost four Sisters because my prisoner removed his helmet during void transfer. I'd rather not be responsible for any of your deaths either." There was a brittle edge to her voice. "The ships will self destruct if all the crew die." This wasn't news to the squad leaders, it had been part of the briefing they had already received. "Immobilization is the best course of action. I highly recommend the volt rifles your Smiths have been working on, if they are like my volter, you'll be able to stun them." Several squad leaders look questioningly at Kohei, who looked vaguely annoyed.

"They aren't ready yet." He admitted, hating to give up that information, information Cáel shouldn't have known. "Besides, a bolter butt to the back of the head works just as well."

Cáel put a chrome pair of shackles on the edge of the projector. "We use these to immobilize prisoners, we call them paralytic restrains. I have twenty five more, courtesy of the Creche. I should like to distribute these to your squads."

"Was the prisoner you were transferring wearing these when he took off his helmet?"

"To my great regret, no."

"I will allow this." Kohei agreed, and shrunk the xenos ships in favor of the Oasian transport. "There are four access hatches, and a large breech on the portside. The Army was kind enough to forward the emergency overrides to us. I'd like a team at each entry and the breech. Seok, recapturing the bridge falls to you. Tatsuhiro," Kohei addressed his Marine, but his gaze was on Cáel. "Locate and secure the recruits. Also, I need you to investigate the echoes of biosigns we've been picking up out of place."

Cáel looked up blinking. "You've got echoes? We've got people onboard then. Do you have that report?"

"What makes you so sure?" Kohei asked as Manzo keyed up the report.

"I trained them. It's a Guard technique, but you can muffle your suit beacon if you have reason to believe a friendly vessel has fallen into enemy hands." She read the report as quickly as it flashed up on the projector. "I'm positive we've people on board - was there a unit designation?"

"This is all we got." Manzo replied apologetically.

"Can you coordinate an attack with them, Colonel?" Tatsuhiro asked.

"I don't know, these aren't good readings. But I shall try." She looked up. "If you could learn which unit this is, it'll make contacting them easier." Kohei nodded, understanding what she wasn't saying - she didn't think the Army would furnish _her_ with that information. Not for the first time, he suspected she was less the Army's liaison, and more the Guards'.

Conversation turned to tactics and strategies. Cáel listened in, as she was expected to be by Tatsuhiro's side for this mission, but her eyes drew back to the large screen showing their intercept course, and that of the Army fleet, further away.

"Do you have anything to add before we deploy, Colonel?" Kohei was looking at her.

"Two thoughts, by your leave." Kohei nodded. "First, expect these xenos to be fast." She then added when squad leader Sen opened his mouth to speak. "Be faster." Sen shut his mouth. "Secondly, we are well past the demarcation of safety- even though we're outside the warpstorm proper, we're close enough now that things can and will show up. It'll be worst if the transport enters the Storm without its Gellar sheilds engaged. If we cannot retake the ship before that we need to get all the non-coms into to this hold." She tapped a key, pulling up the transport schematic. "This section of the ship is made entirely of warpsteel. Unarmed recruits will have a better chance of surviving here, with their sanity intact."

"Is this a normal feature in transports?"

"In this system it is."

* * *

Dismissed, Cáel vanished to retrieve the restraints. Tatsuhiro joined his battle brothers as they marched down to the landing deck, each making their last minute orders via vox. Below, armor and weapons were inspected and donned. Warbird engines were checked and greenlit for fueling. The landing deck was a hive of activity when the squad leaders arrived. He quickly joined his squad as they began to muster. His squad, like Haru's was a generalist. There was a place for specialization within the Legion but he left that to squad leaders who actually took an interest in those feilds. So far it worked out rather well.

His men saluted him with the sign of the aquilla, for this was business, and the appropriate time for all the pomp and circumstance of a disciplined corps. He looked over his men with pride.

He knew and fought along side each one extensively, and found them all to be solid veterans of countless campaigns. Tacturn Hikaru who had a surprisingly warm laugh and steady hands for picking apart bombs. Sharp eyed Daisuke with his marksmanship second only to Captain Roku's. Affable Kenji, both the youngest in the Legion, and an excellent hand to hand fighter. Technical Eiji, their MarineTech and Pilot. Scarred but unbowed Huyu, who had lost an eye in his very first encounter to a faulty helmet, and whose mechanical replacement glowed yellow behind his visor. Yemon who wielded his paintbrush as professionally as his chainsword. Kohei had one of his poems hanging in his quarters. Cautious Naoko with his many strategies and careful advice. Bold Torao, always eager to scout ahead. And quick fingered Jiro, Eiji's copilot and the squad pickpocket for those rare times when Tatsuhiro chose subtlety over more visible conflict. He knew and trusted with his life and honor every one of them.

Cáel's progress could be tracked by watching each group suddenly reached for their arms, mistaking her for an Eldar before their squad leaders reigned them in. Tatsuhiro shook his head. She was playing with fire, and yet seemed to expect exactly that result. He would have to ask her the significance of her armor. He hadn't seen any Guard employ power armor before now. Perhaps that's because they really didn't need it? So what changed this time? More questions that could wait until they were underway to ask, he told himself, for now he had to brief his men.

"Our task is two fold, we are to secure any friendlies encountered, and provide Seok with a distraction so his squad can take the bridge." There was a round of nods, for the extent of the situation had been briefed to them earlier.

"How loud a distraction?" Kenji asked, one hand on a grenade.

"Not that loud, if we can help it. Remember, the recruits are without voidsuits."

"What about the biosigns you mentioned in your vox?" Naoko queried.

"The Colonel thinks there might be soldiers aboard she's trained. They may be using a Guard technique to mask their presence from the bridge, so it's up to her to make contact with them."

"There's Guard onboard the transport?"

"No, but I trained the especial forces for the Army, so they know some of my tricks." Cáel's voice replied from in their midst, and the startled Marines grabbed their weapons.

"Colonel, what have I said about doing that?" Tatsuhiro frowned openly at her.

"With earnest apologies, gentlemen." She replied contritely, head bowed. At least she had the common sense not to stand where one of them could lash out with impunity.

"Can you tell us more about these especial forces you trained?" Naoko recovered first.

"Not with any certainty. The biosignal was well muffled. The _Audacious_ only picked it up because of your superior tech." There was something chagrined in her tone, and Tatsuhiro fancied it was due more to the fact that they _had_ picked up the signals rather than not getting them at all. "Once we are aboard, if the good Taisa is amenable, I'd like to open vox my presence. If there are any friendlies left, they'll reach out to me directly. "

"We are suppose to provide Seok with a distraction." Tatsuhiro tacitly approved. Cáel made brief eye contact with Kenji before meeting every other Marines' gaze.

"Kindly avoid using explosives for the time being. The Army would like to recover the transport intact as much as possible, and the recruits are not in voidsuits. Also, we are well past the demarcation of safety. Even if Seok retakes the bridge before we enter the storm proper, the large portside breech will allow warpspawn in. For whatever reason, the xenos have not engaged the Geller sheilds, so until Seok is able to reclaim the bridge, we may end up fighting both warpspawn and xenos. Let's not give the warpspawn additional egresses." The squad nodded, and Cáel handed Tatsuhiro two pairs of restraints. "I have the other squads six pair each, since our task seems less suited to acquiring prisoners."

"I would have distributed them the same way." Tatsuhiro agreed, and passed them to Naoko and Yemon.

"Seok's squad is taking the forward airlocks. We have the aft and breech. Eiji will drop both squads, then take what measure you can to turn the transport. Naoko, you take Huyu, Jiro and Kenji through the breech. Stay sharp. Like the Colonel says, there is almost certainly warpspawn waiting there. Yemon, you take Daisuke and Hikaru to the starboard airlock. Torao, the Colonel and myself will take the port airlock." It was a mark of how highly he thought of her fighting prowess, that he considered her worth one of his men. As Eiji added Cáel to the squad's HUD protocol, the Weapons' Master approached.

Tatsuhiro nodded at the approaching Marine, and also his captain, Manzo. His squad quickly assembled, and Cáel joined the back.

Manzo requested his chainsword, and Tatsuhiro produced it, so his captain could drape the paper oath of the moment over its housing. Manzo recited the words of the oath, and Tatsuhiro preformed the proper response. Manzo then sealed the oath to his armor.

"Good. Colonel Cáel of Sentinel?" Manzo called her up, and gestured to her to face Tatsuhiro.

Cáel faced Tatsuhiro, puzzled by this call up. Manzo produced her sonic sword and volter, and Tatsuhiro took the blade, draping that sixth oath of the moment over the flat of the blade.

"Do you swear to follow the orders of the ranking commander, to offer succor and intelligence to the Legion, and stand beside your shieldmate for so long as this mission lasts? For the glory and honor of the Guard and the Emperor?"

Cáel stared up at Tatsuhiro with a raised eyebrow.

"Clarification, please. Who is to be my shieldmate?" She asked in barely audible voice.

"I am." Tatsuhiro replied, his own lips hardly moving.

"Yes, I do." She replied at full volume, and behind her, Tatsuhiro saw a look of relief from the squad. There was no requirement for a non-legionnary to accept an oath of the moment, just as there was really no reason for Kohei to have penned her the oath. But Tatsuhiro's men recognized it as a mark of confidence, and a refusal would have seen seen as a slight against the Legion as a whole. Kohei's gamble seemed to have paid off, though, he decided, sealing the oath to the armor with wax. Cáel winced as the hot wax pressed against the shoulder guard, earning a puzzled look from him.

"Feedback." She mouthed, and he nodded. Sometimes powersuits weren't completely synched up with the sensory feedback loop, and some sensations came through stronger, like the burning temperatures of the hot wax. It usually worked itself out in a matter of hours. Tatsuhiro hoped they had that long.

Cáel stepped back, bowed, and took her weapons. As she returned to the back of the squad a human deck hand gave the signal that the Warbird was fuelled.

Tatsuhiro ordered his squad aboard, lingering for a moment longer for some last words with Manzo.

"The Daimyo is currently in contact with High Command, " he murmured to Tatsuhiro. "He'll vox the Colonel if he learns anything new. In the meantime, he wants her to make contact with any friendlies at the earliest possible moment. We need eyes inside that transport."

"Yes sir. " Tatsuhiro made the sign of the aquilla to his captain. "Wind at your back, Brother."

"And honor in your actions, Hiro."

Behind them, the Weapons' Master was offering Cáel her choice of volters and knives. She started to refuse, then thinking better of it selected one of the sonic knives, mag locking it to her left leg. Tatsuhiro came up behind her, and waited politely for her to board.

"Back into the fray." Cáel murmured, surging into the Warbird and racking into a cradle.

"Eiji, we're ready."

"Yes, Taisa."

* * *

Despite the _Audacious'_ s relative proximity to the transport, the Legion's ship dared not travel beyond it's current position - a point both the Navigator and Librarian had been adamant on. Inside the Warbird the tension was palpable, but with a long jaunt ahead, the racked Marines broke into conversation.

"Excuse me, Colonel," one of Seok's men turned slightly in his harness to face her.

"Yes, Senshi?" Cáel popped her visor up and addressed the Marine with a smile.

"We heard about the first two Guard you took down, what about the other four?"

Cáel laughed.

"Well, three of them beat me back to the crash site."

* * *

Sings in the Calm arrived first, and was there to greet her Sisters with the bad news.

 _Challenges the Thunder is dead. The transport is a total loss, all electronics beyond repair and I cannot find an emergency beacon._ She whistled over external speakers. Dances Like Falling Leaves eased into a hunched squat, clearly rattled by the news. Cerridwen knelt down beside her, so they rested in the lee of the wreckage, out of the howling wind.

 _How_? Leaves asked, her voice wavering, for of the six of them, she alone had met the Kru Guard sister during her own pilot certification.

 _Sabotage_. Calm replied matter of factly, joining them in the scant shelter. She held something out in her hand, the twisted remains of a detonator. Leaves took it, then passed it to Cerridwen.

"The prisoner?"

 _Gone. Ejected_.

Both Leaves and Cerridwen looked up.

" _Why_?" They demanded at the same time, one in Krun, the other in Gothic. _Thunder should have ejected if she ejected the prisoner!_ Leaves trilled.

"Perhaps whomever planted the bomb also tampered with the ejection manifold." Cerridwen suggested. Leaves held her head in her hands. _She should have checked before lift off, she couldn't possible have skipped that-_

Calm sighed. They were spiralling, and not in an effective manner.  
 _Assessment: transport crashed, most likely sabatoge,_ she whistled softly, starting one of the common strategy exercises practiced at the Creche.

"Knowns: " Cerridwen picked up the thread, "prisoner escaped, pilot dead, all means of communication beyond our suits severed, and we three are here."

 _Unknowns_ : it took Leaves a moment, but she grounded herself enough to respond, _location of three Sisters. Location of the prisoner. Whether or not a distress call got out. If the prisoner has help, or is escaping solo._

"She had to have some help." Cerridwen grumbled, "it's not like she could have set the explosives herself."

 _Don't tailspin_. Calm warned, before they went off another tangent. _Objectives: find our Sisters, find the prisoner, make it to the rendezvous. Prioritize?_

 _Find our Crechmates_. Leaves trilled stoutly, as Cerridwen flickered through their HUD runic profiles. Runs Towards Fire's and Tegwan's both had disappeared without warning, almost certain a sign that they had gotten caught in a crevass just deep enough to block their suits signals. Enya's kept flickering in and out, suggesting she was just out of range.

"Agreed. The first Creche pair can strike out for the rendezvous site, while the rest of us can locate the others and the prisoner." Cerridwen recommended, standing.

"Leaving me so soon?"

The Guards spun upright, scanning the area for the voice that sounded directly behind them.

 _What was that?_ Calm whistled, rapidly running her visor through various filters.

"You heard that too, right?" Cerridwen asked, her volter drawn.

 _Who's there? Show yourself!_ Leaves trumpeted her demand. Distantly on the blown wind they heard laughter.

 _Prisoner?_ Calm queried, helmet to helmet communication, encrypted, but limited to line of sight.

"Change in priorities. Capture the prisoner first." Cerridwen growled. "Wing form, spread out, but stay in sight." Volters drawn they slowly worked their way in a wedge formation out of the sheltering wreckage.

* * *

"Excuse me, Colonel," Naoko interrupted as Cáel came to a natural pause in her storytelling. She nodded.

"Why did you take all three of them on at once?"

"Same reason I agreed to test all six of them in the same event. They are straight out of the Creche - they aren't thinking like Marines yet."

"I thought you were suppose to think like Guards?" Tatsuhiro deadpanned.

"Only if we want to end up dead." She snorted, as several of the Marines chuckled. "Creche instruction only teaches us how, not when to do something, and that limits the recent graduate. In my captaincy my first duty would be to break new Guards of all the bad habits they learned at the Creche. You know this better than anyone - when you fight, you fight to win. None of these romantic notions of fair play or sportsmanship - you eliminate the threat with extreme prejudice." Realizing she had been baited, she gave Tatsuhiro a sheepish look.

"So other than running a psy ops, how did you defeat those three?" Tatsuhiro asked, pleased he had gotten a rise out of her.

* * *

The attack came from above, and Leaves cursed herself for not realizing the obvious - none of them had bothered to look up.

The prisoner attacked with the sun behind her, leaping off the top of the wreckage and landing on top of Calm's shoulders. The force of the leap drove the transkru to her knees, snapping her collar bone in three. The prisoner ripped her volter free from her hands and got a single shot off, directly into Leaves' back.

Leaves went down with an agonized squawk as Calm desperately flailed after the prisoner, but her reactions were slowed by pain and the prisoner was already gone, hurling herself at Cerridwen, who fired three shots - all which missed the charging prisoner, but two striking Calm.

Calm fell back, twitching, and her rune went black on the HUD.

The prisoner rammed her stolen volter into Cerridwen's, fouling the weapons so if she discharged it, both of them would get hit by electronic backwash. Snarling Cerridwen attempted to headbutt her, but the prisoner sidestepped and let go of the volters, sending Cerridwen toppling head first into the snow.

Leaves screeched a warning, throwing her still partially paralyzed body at the prisoner as she snatched the sonic knife off of Cerridwen's belt. It was a desperate move at best as Leaves had none of her regular power or control.

The prisoner leapt to one side, and brought the pommel of knife down hard on the back of Leaves' head, where the joint of the helmet met the flexible neck plating. It sent a shockwave down the transkru's spine, and she collapsed next Cerridwen. Anyone other than a Guard, and the blow would have killed them outright. On Cerridwen's HUD Leaves' rune turned purple, indicating severe neural interruptions. Cerridwen knew better than to expect help from that sector as she forced herself upright, raising both volters and taking aim.

Except, something felt wrong about their weight. And the prisoner was just standing there, her eyes daring the Guard to pull the trigger...

Cerridwen hazarded a quick glance down, and blanched under her armor. Both barrels were jammed with thick shards of ice. Had she pulled the triggers, both volters would have overcharged and exploded in her hands. With an oath, she threw the weapons away and sprinted towards Leaves.

The prisoner was fast, but Cerridwen was closer, and she got the blade up, still inside it's armadillo hide sheath, to ward off the killing blow.

Both blades screeched like tortured souls, as the harmonically different vibrational edges ground against each other. So powerful was the prisoner's blow it knocked her over Leaves' paralyzed form. Cerridwen tucked her head and somersaulted backwards, one foot shoving off of Leaves, sending her spinning catawaumpus. It bought her enough time to get up, then the prisoner was on her again. Another earshattering parry, and pain exploded as the prisoner planted her bare foot in the Guard's gut. Were it not for the soft shelled armor, Cerridwen's ribs would have shattered as she slammed into the wrecked fuselage.

As her HUD swum wildly before her eyes, she felt her knife slipped free from her grasp, and something cylinderic put in its place. Her visor went blessédly dark, and a voice she would recognize even in her deepest slumber spoke.

"Your final test is over, Daughter."

* * *

"You Guard play rough." A Marine commented.

"We play rough? I've seen what you lot call grappling - we'd be in the apothacarion all the time if we played as rough as you." She retorted, smiling to take the sting from her words.

"For a non-Legonnary." The Marine amended with a slight chuckle.

"You seem to toy more with your human Sisters than you do your the Kru." Tatsuhiro noted quietly, his comment for Cáel alone. She twisted to meet his gaze, looking offended.

"Toy? On the contrary, I'm showing them what they can expect in a real battle. Kru are always bigger targets, they are naturally the first to come under fire in any combat situation. If I can scare some situational awareness into them, they'll have a much better chance to survive enemy contact." She rebuked him mildly. "Don't you have a tactical rule of going after the most dangerous enemy first? Who's more dangerous, me or a transkru almost as tall and fast as you?"

"You are," came a chorus of responses from the Marines around her. Tatsuhiro allowed himself a chuckle.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, gentlemen," Cáel retorted tartly, "but you have the advantage of knowing my techniques. That would be a terribly unwise choice, were you faced with a Guard troop."

"Is there a reason we should fear an incursion by the Guard, Cáel of Sentinel?" Kohei's voice asked from her vox. Cáel flipped her visor down, to speak with him privately.

"Let me put it this way, Daimyo. If I had not worked out as your liaison, the next Guard you would have seen would not have been a liaison, nor would she have been alone." Cáel stated matter of factly into the vox, as she stared at the red and silver armor of the Marine opposite her.

"Is that a threat, Colonel?" Kohei almost sounded... amused?

"No, sir, that is a statement of fact." Cáel laughed lightly. "How might I be of service, Daimyo?"

"I have the designation of the unit the Army sent to retake the transport. They are called Dropbears." Kohei, aboard the bridge of the _Audacious_ at one of the small screens he had commandeered for his own use, carefully studied the image her armor beamed back of her face. Cáel blinked, taken aback.

"Did they commit the entire unit, sir?"

"Two six man teams were sent to the smaller xeno ships, and a nine man team to the transport." Kohei confirmed. Cáel's eyes widened, then her expression turned grim.

"Thank you, sir."

"Anything you wish to share, Colonel?" Kohei lead with all the subtlety of a revving chainsword.

"Not particularly, Daimyo. But if you are asking, yes, that was my old unit." She replied flatly.

"If they are still alive, Colonel, I highly recommend you retake command of them." He plainly realized what Cáel had - the Dropbears had been set up to fail. "We need realtime intel on what's going on inside that transport."

"Yes sir. If they still live, the Dropbears will get you that intel."

"Good. Wind at your back, Cáel of Sentinel."

"Honor in our actions, sir," she responded automatically, then mulled over his information and advice. Kohei might, like most Marines, not think as much of non-Marines, but even he baulked at the idea of deliberately throwing away their lives.

At length, Cáel queried about the ETA.

"We are thirty-eight minutes from intercept, Colonel," Eiji informed her, open voxing his answer so as to forestall further inquiries of 'are we there yet' from his impatient Brothers.

"Thank you, Senshi." She sort of sank down in her bracketed position giving her power armor an almost dejected demeanor. Tatsuhiro gave her a concerned sideways glance.

"Colonel?" He voxed her privately, and when she was slow to respond, "Cáel?"

"Apologies, Taisa. I'm absorbing some new information."

"It doesn't sound good."

"It was incomplete. That always makes me trepidatious."

"The friendlies?" He hazarded to guess.

"Aye."

"Are they known to you?"

"Aye. Dropbears." The name meant nothing to him.

"You are unusually taciturn, Cáel." Tatsuhiro informed her bluntly. "What aren't you telling me?"

"They were my old command, Ishikawa." Her response was low, even though theirs was a private channel. "And I have no reason to believe more than a third of them are still alive."

Tatsuhiro understood, recognizing that gut ache at the thought of so large a loss to a unit. After all, only he, Manzo and Hikaru survived the ambush that took the lives of his squad Brothers. How much worst the loss must feel, when one had been in command of the same group.

"We will find them, Imoto." He place a companionable hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, her visor casting green light on her features.

"What does that mean, Imoto? Haru called me that, when he was stuck, but I thought he had mistaken me for another Marine."

"Ah, it means little sister. In the Mitzu system it is the practice to call younger women such." It was also a mark of familiarity, but he refrained from saying so, least he caused offense.

"Oh, we have something similar on Sentinel. Your elders are Auntie and Uncle, everyone your age is 'cousin', and those younger than you are 'mhac' or 'ighinn'."

"Why the discrepancy with monikers?"

"Discrepancy?"

"Those your age or older have a degree of separation, but you call those younger son and daughter."

"Oh. Hm, I've never really thought about it before." She thought for a moment. "It's probably because of our history. Children are precious. By calling them as if they were our own offspring, we're reminding ourselves of their importance to our future." She explained, partially thinking aloud.

"Curious."

"What is?"

"I did not appreciate how much your separation from the rest of the Imperium had affected the culture of the system, all the way to the very usage of the pathos."

"We must seem rather unusual and strange, to you." There was a hint of mirth in her tone.

"Only at first. Then you are familiar and strange."

Cáel's only response was to laugh.

* * *

Terms To Know

mhac - Oasian word for son

ighinn - Oasian word for daughter

Imoto - Mitzu system word for younger sister

Eldar - a race of aliens that once held a galaxy spanning Empire, before being brought low by their own arrogance and self indulgence. Think space elves with attitude.

Pathos - language specific to a region or system. Oasis' pathos is heavily influenced by a mismash of Gaelic dialects.

* * *

 ** _And I am back. All moved and with an extra long chapter for you wonderfully patient readers. Thank you for hanging in there. As always feel free to contact me with questions, corrections or just to say hi._**


	19. Chapter 19

**_16 Hours Before_**

They deployed from the Warbird like a blood trail on the 'underside' of the transport. With the ship's bulk between them and the star the Kru had named 'Shining Oasis in the Heart of Seething Darkness', the only external light was the hellish reflection from the Warpstorm, which threw more shadows than light. Tatsuhiro joined Cáel and Torao, the former only visible because the triskilions of her armor glowed faintly in the ultraviolet spectrum. Her external lights were off, and visor dark.

This had disconcerted the Marines at first, to the point that Torao questioned it, as they made the kilometer trek, helped along by their void packs.

"Warpspawn won't show on your visors, nor any electronic device." She explained calmly over the cracking vox. Even at this distance the Storm was interfering with the vox. "My own night vision is better suited to the task."

Her measured response put to rest any lingering doubts Tatsuhiro had about her state of mind, as she and him took lookout for Torao as he keyed in the override.

"No void shields, no Geller field..." Torao rumbled, as the airlock slowly bleed off before opening.

"Almost like they want us to visit." Tatsuhiro agreed.

"So what are we today, gentlemen? Turtles or tigers?" Cáel asked as the airlock cycled opened.

"Only a fool hunts tigers with dragon bait." Torao replied, leading the way. Tatsuhiro snorted his laughter, following. Once inside they shed their void packs.

"What's a dragon?"

* * *

Yemon's warning came too late - bolter fire greeted them as the inner lock mawed open.

"They've set up ambushes just inside the locks," crackled the vox as Tatsuhiro and Torao moved to the sides for the scant remaining shelter of the retracting inner lock doors.

"Cover me." Cáel streaked burgundy, racing diagonally away from airlock and the pinned Marines. The firing automata followed her as she ran up the wall, freeing up Tatsuhiro and Torao to return fire. Their mass reactive bolts slammed into the plasteel exoskeletons of the crablike automata - they erupted in balls of blue flames whenever the fuel cells for the plasma arc blades ruptured.

Still running, Cáel raced across the overhead deck and dropped down behind a blast shield, a familiar wail sounding between bursts of bolter fire as she unleashed her sword. From behind the shield, a partly armored xeno lurched up, the point of the sonic blade emerging from his chest, then ripped upwards, bisecting it's spine and head in a spray of magenta blood. Around the airlock the automata seized up and shook, their link with the xeno shattered by it's death.

"Quickly, before they reset!" Cáel's volter was out and she fired, hitting three of the spasming machines. The remainder were quickly moped up by Tatsuhiro and Torao, as Cáel turned and faced the security vid lens facing the airlock. Both Marines heard the 'click' of the vox being engaged across all channels.

"I am Cáel of Sentinel. This is your last chance. Lay down your weapons, and turn the bridge over to the _Audacious._ Then, and only then will we discuss clemency. Should you refuse," her voice dropped into what Tatsuhiro had once heard his primarch refer to as the 'predator range', "I highly recommend you put your personal affairs in order. Oasis does not suffer slavers." She ended the open communique abruptly, bringing her volter up and shooting at point blank range one shuttering automata attempting to autolock on her form.

* * *

"What is she doing?" The junior communications officer, a recent arrival to the bridge, asked his captain in a shocked whisper, as the _Audacious_ monitored the transport's communications.

"We call it creating a distraction." MarineTech Chuleun replied blandly, never looking up from his station where he coordinated the mission. The officer flushed red and stared down at his screen, chastised and embarrassed. Hanaringo pat his shoulder. "Continue to monitor the bridge. We need access the instant control is reestablished." The young captain glanced down bridge at Kohei, who had not moved from his chosen screen, monitoring twelves separate feeds at the same time. Hanaringo had lived aboard the _Audacious_ since his tenth Terran year, as his uncle's shadow and chosen successor. Even now he marveled at the Legonnaries' ability to prosecute war with near godlike precision.

Kohei stood alone, not uncommon given the small scale of the mission. Unlike larger troop movements, he liked to remain hands off in smaller engagements - his men knew what was expected of them, no need for him to micromanage from high anchorage. But he watched. He always watched, until the last Marine returned.

He sensed Hanaringo's gaze on him, and ignored it, for another presence making itself known.

"Report." Kohei murmured, his eyes never leaving the screen as the Librarian contacted him.

+Something is moving within the Storm. The navigator senses it as well.+

"Should we withdraw to a safer distance?" Kohei was by no means adverse to fighting warpspawn, but he saw a distinct disadvantage to having to do so aboard the _Audacious._

+No. Activating our Geller field should be sufficient.+

"This is acceptable. Thank you. Captain?" Kohei's voice boomed across the bridge on the last word. Hanaringo hurried over.

"Yes sir?"

"I have been informed that something stirs within the Storm. It would be prudent to engage the Geller field."

"I thank you for the timely warning." Hanaringo turned and gave the order.

"Captain, a moment more, if you can spare it."

"Certainly, Daimyo."

"When we picked up the xenos signal before they left the Storm, did we also record any residual Geller signature?" Kohei asked quietly, his gaze never wavering.

Hanaringo paused before answering, his eyes blinking rapidly for a moment as he checked the information via implant that allowed him direct access to the _Audacious_ 's information banks.

"No, sir, we did not."

"Hm."

"Is something wrong, sir?" Hanaringo hazarded.

"Possibly. But it is so fantastical, I dare not give voice to it until I have more data."

"What data do you need?"

"Have we ever encountered any xenos with faster than light travel that did not use the Immaterium?"

"I do not have that information, but I know who does. Excuse me." Hanaringo left without seeing Kohei's nod.

* * *

"I forsee a possible flaw in this plan." Tatsuhiro informed Cáel.

"Oh?" She was kicking the smoking automata husk aside, leaving an open pathway behind her.

"The xenos may not speak Gothic." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm rather hoping they don't." She held up a hand as her vox crackled on a different channel.

"Colonel Cáel?" The voice, of synthetic vocal cords, sounded cautious.

"O'Mabon? Good to hear your voice, soldier."

"Better to hear yours, Colonel." The relief was plain even in artificially reconstructed voice box. "Can we be of service?"

"How many is 'we', O'Mabon?''

"I have four, Sound has two." Cáel's breath caught in her throat - eight survivors was far more than she had dared hoped.

"We need eyes, if you Bears are up to the task." Her response was lightly said, but both knew she was deadly serious.

 _Eyes, ears and hands, Colonel._ Force of Sound whistled across the vox. _All you have to do is give the command._

"I'll do you one better, lads," Cáel opened their communication to the _Audacious,_ " _Audacious,_ this is Colonel Cáel."

"Go ahead Colonel." TechMarine Chuleun replied.

"As of this moment I am retaking command of the especial forces unit known as the Dropbears. Please inform High Command."

"Certainly, Colonel."

"Alright lads, fix and sync to my signal. We have friendlies on board and I don't want them taking pot shots at you." There was a databurst and her HUD reoriented it's runes.

"What kind of friendlies, Colonel?"

"Legion, Bears. Let's make this worth their time."

* * *

"We know it's been done, but what we don't know is how or by what means." Archivist Hwan really didn't belong on the _Audacious_. A frail man in his early ninth decade he should have been enjoying his remaining years surrounded by family on his home moon. Unfortunately the colony moon that his family called home was no more. Bombed and irradiated past all hopes of any sort of life by vindictive Eldar, he had sworn to serve the remainder of his life to the person who could destroy the xenos who murdered his family. Susanno, recognizing the impossibility of him becoming a Marine, honored his warrior's oath by placing him aboard the _Audacious_ as an Archivist. Now, three decades on, the oldest mortal shipside stood before Kohei, answering his questions as the Daimyo's eyes never left the screen.

"Please explain."

"We have found evidence of an ancient civilization - so ancient as to be counted in the tens of millions of years of Terran years, that spanned much of the known galaxy. Where we have found remnants of their technology, even the very basic workings has baffled the Adeptus Merchanus. Mars has been trying to understand the few pieces they recovered without success. But given the wide spread nature of the find, we have to conclude that they had a form of faster than light travel that uses no known material or science that we currently employ." Hwan leaned on the arm of the young midshipman sent to fetch him.

Kohei was silent for a long moment.

"What if another race had figured it out?"

Hwan was silent for even longer.

"Any race that can travel faster than light without accessing the Immaterium would be at a great advantage. Not only would they not be braving the dangers of warp travel, the Astra Telepathica would never hear them coming."

* * *

Chuleun quickly patched the Dropbears into the Legion's network.

"Colonel, it would be most helpful if we could get eyes on the bridge and engine room." He explained.

"Understood." Cáel glanced at the Marines, who were waiting patiently for her.

"Ishikawa." Behind his helmet Tatsuhiro smiled faintly. Cáel had divined the proper use of personal names much quicker than most.

"Yes Colonel?" A rune blinked on his HUD, and he blink clicked, instantly accessing the data she sent him. Tatsuhiro was silent for a long moment.

"You have injured men, Colonel."

"I do."

"Do you wish to med evac them?"

"I do. They wish to remain."

"You are torn." This surprised him.

"I have injured men, Ishikawa. Men sent on a suicide mission. No matter how this ends, they already view this as a failed mission."

"Do they want to die?"

Cáel snorted softly.

"When I'm done with them? Perhaps then. No, they are thirsty for a chance to salvage the mission."

"Why are you torn, Cáel?" Tatsuhiro honestly couldn't see why she simply didn't give the order to evacuate.

Cáel sighed deeply.

"They are not Guard."

"Is that important?"

"If they were my Sisters I would defer to their self assessment of their injuries. Especial forces are modded, but not to Guard standards."

''You think they are attempting to hide the extent of their injuries from you?"

"I know they are. Even tampered with, their suits don't lie. Two of them can barely stand. But," her troubled eyes met his gaze, "they are adamant."

"They are proud, much like their commander."

"I knew I could count on you to keep me humble." She replied with a soft snort, and nodded her readiness to go.

"I live to serve."

* * *

"Alright Bears, you're in this dance - but eyes only. You do _not_ engage unless there is no other choice. And even then second guess yourself. McGwen, O'Breed - you're out. Sound, get my cripples to the safe hold. Once you are there make yourselves useful by setting up the place for occupation. The transport is still on a bearing for the Storm. If there are xenos in the safe hold - contact me. Again, do not engage. O'Mabon, divide into two teams- hold on." A new rune blinked on her HUD and she clicked over to the private vox channel.

"Report."

 _Colonel?_ The whistle was slower and pained.

"Dusk? Is that you?" Cáel edged a little closer to Tastuhiro as they walked. Watcher in the Dusk had not been one of the listed survivors.

 _It is._

"Why did you let O'Mabon think you were dead?"

 _I'm as good as dead, Colonel. Caught a bolt in my lower gut. I'm only alive now because of my mods. I won't- the mission will be over long after my backup heart fails. There was no point in getting any of the others killed in a futile rescue attempt._

Cáel said nothing, but bowed her head for a moment.

"What's your location, Dusk?"

 _I'm on the bridge. In the port corner, by the navigator's pit. The xenos think I'm dead._

"Can you see the bridge?"

 _Aye._

 _"_ Can your visor still send vid and sound?"

 _Aye._

"I'm patching you through to the _Audacious.''_

 _Good. Speed to your blade, Colonel._

"Speed to your path home, Dusk."

"Colonel?" Belatedly, Cáel realized both Marines were looking at her.

"I have eyes on the bridge." Tatsuhiro couldn't miss the roughness in her voice. Cáel cleared her throat. "Don't mention it to the other Bears, please."

"O'Mabon, belay my previous order. Take your team to the engine room, report directly to Senshi Chuleun what you see and hear. _Do not_ engage. You are no longer hands in this mission. Am I perfectly clear?"

" _Yes ma'am_." Came the chorus of replies.

"Good. Run silent, run fast, lads."

"Until the galaxy brings us home in glory, Colonel." O'Mabon signed off cheekily.

"I'm paying for past crimes with this lot." She commented by way of explanation, with a deep sigh.

"Our pasts do have a way with catching up with us." Torao agreed, taking point.

* * *

Notes:

"..." conversation in Gothic

 _When in italics_ _conversation is in Kru, except for emphasis and ship names._

+thought speech+ a.k.a. telepathy


	20. Chapter 20

12 hours before

Tatsuhiro was enjoying himself. Torao and he cut wide swathes of destruction through the wave of warpspawn, their chainswords snarling like rampaging lions. Cáel's sword howled in harmony three octaves higher, as she eeled between them, catching the few spawn that managed to dodge their first destructive sweeps. It ended much too soon, Tatsuhiro thought with a sense of regret, like the falling petals from a blossoming tree. He paused, sword at the ready, the soft purr and vibration of the chainsword a comfortable companion in the after-battle. Torao had gotten a little ahead of him, surveying the side corridor.

"Colonel, you are needed."

Cáel was at Torao's side, then passed out of Tatsuhiro's sight down the side passage. He could hear her whistling, in the language of the Kru, and heard another respond in kind, as he moved closer to see, and to keep a wary eye on the corridor ahead.

In the side corridor, leaning against the wall, but upright, was a Kru in a voidsuit, one arm limp and smearing crimson blood along the plasteel walls, the other shakily holding a las pistol. Cáel was talking the crewman down, finally reaching out and taking the weapon from the Kru. There was a dry croak, and the Kru slid to the floor, in an exhausted huddle.

"Who are you?" Torao asked, his attention more on the far end of the corridor, and the darkness there that he did not trust to be empty. The helmeted head lifted, and whistled a response.

"Her name is Greets With Drawn Blades." A fitting name, Tatsuhiro thought, given the circumstance they met in.

"What's her position?" Tatsuhiro asked. Again the Kru trilled.

"Second lieutenant, communications. Do you know what happened to the rest of the bridge crew?" Cáel translated, then asked. Blades let out a heart wrenching moan followed by a series of pained chirps.

"She says the ship's command is dead. She only managed to escape the slaughter because she was off duty at the time. The xenos broadcast their murder of the crew."

"That's a common tactic with slavers. It's to inspire compliance." Tatsuhiro told them. Cáel switched to the vox.

"Taisa, Blades may be the last person left with voice authority that the transport computers will acknowledge. We need to get her to safety."

"How far are we from the safe hold?" Tatsuhiro asked.

"We're one deck above."

"And your men?"

"Both teams reached their destinations an hour ago. If nothing else, Blades can join Sound's team. My men can keep her safe until the bridge is liberated."

"Will she make it?" Torao asked, as Cáel offered a hand to the seated Kru.

"She's Army, she'll make it." Wearily, the Kru took it, and Cáel pulled her back up to her feet.

" _Audacious_ , we have made contact with the a surviving member of command. We're heading to the safe hold." Tatsuhiro informed the vox.

"Very good, Taisa. Yemon has a group of recruits and is headed there as well." Chuleun replied, his signal scratchy. Blades followed tiredly, her good hand going to the rip in her voidsuit.

 _Who are these soldiers, Guard? I don't recognize their armour._ Blades asked after a moment of blindly following the burgundy power suit.

 _Legion, lieutenant. Prefers Blunt Instruments and Strikes Like Swooping Swallow._ Cáel pointed to Tatsuhiro and Torao, naming them with their Krun names. Blades shivered.

 _Forgive me, Guard. I am glad of their presence._

"What is there to forgive?" Cáel switched back to Gothic, a subtle warning to the Marines. Both tightened their grips on their weapons.

 _Your presence leads me to believe the Council would offer them succor. But their presence tells me High Command would like to see the xenos utterly wiped out. And, for my part, I should like for their deaths to be painful._

"I would be lying, lieutenant, if I told you I wished for anything other than the xenos' complete obliteration." Cáel turned and studied the Kru. "You are exhausted and at the limits of your strength. You will be able to rest shortly." Blades nodded numbly.

"Should we be concerned, Colonel?" Tatsuhiro voxed her privately.

"I don't know her temperaent well enough, Taisa, but her choice of words is concerning."

"You are thinking stormtaint?"

"Aye." Cáel replied grimly.

"Is bringing her to the safe hold wise?"

"Leaving her out here isn't. Stormtaint feeds off of feelings of alienation and abandonment. Being surrounded by others will ground her. And the recruits need to see that someone survived."

"Carry on then." Tatsuhiro lead the way to the interdeck lift.

* * *

Yoshi frowned, and stretched his mental awareness further. He could get a clearer answer if he left the safety of the shields and wards he had carefully placed around him, but he didn't trust the oceanic Warp, especially the perpetual Storm that ringed the system. The Warp was not inherently evil, like any tool it's use was determined by the user. Certainly there were things that lurked in the depths that wanted nothing more than to suck a pysker dry, but until he had arrived to the Oasis system he had never felt such an overwhelming sense of malevolence from the Warp. He stretched, and 'touched' the quivering edge of the Storm. It fluttered, hesitant, soft as moth wings and sharp as a flake of obsidian. For a brief moment it considered him, then with a speed that was breath taking even to the precognative mind lashed out, clawing him across his 'face'.

Yoshi fell over, and off the cushion he had settled himself on in his meditation chamber. A blood vein burst. Grimacing Yoshi rolled up into a half kneel, and wiped away the blood spurting from his nasal cavity. The vein repaired itself in a matter of seconds, but the iron taste of blood lingered uncomfortably.

"Daimyo." He voxed the bridge.

"Yes, Librarian?"

"The transport will enter the Storm before control is regained. If our Warbirds pursue they will be lost."

"Understood, Librarian." Kohei turned away from his screen and walked over to Chuleun. "Brother, do not permit the Warbirds to enter the Storm."

"The transport will need beacons if it enters, Daimyo." Chuleun responded, glancing up from his own array of screens.

"Deploy relay flares."

"Yes sir."

* * *

They made it to the safe hold without further incident. Cáel voxed ahead to Force of Sound, and he met them, taking the exhausted lieutenant under his aegis. Cáel was right, Tatsuhiro noticed, as the recruits responded better to her presence than they did the Legion's.

"Taisa."

"Yes, _Audacious_?"

"I've lost contact with Seok and Ikki." Chuleun did not sound nearly troubled as as that information doubtlessly made him.

"How long ago?"

"I lost vid feeds fifteen minutes ago. Last vox transmission was cut off four minutes ago."

"How close were they to the bridge?"

"They were preparing to storm the bridge."

Tatsuhiro looked up to see Cáel touching her helmet, a habit of hers indicating she was listening to something on the vox.

"I'll regroup my men and take the bridge."

"Taisa, a word of warning," Chuleun's voice was temporarily interrupted by static. "-will be lost if the transport enters the storm. You will be on your own."

"Understood. Wind at your back."

"Hon-" a loud burst of static " -tions."

Tatsuhiro waved over Yemon.

"Seok's squad has lost contact with the _Audacious_ after storming the bridge." He stated without preamble.

"We will want the whole squad then."

"Can Naoko meet us?"

Yemon took a moment to check the semantics against the last known location of the other team. "We can converge on the same deck, if you don't mind a circuitous route."

"All we have is time, gentlemen." Cáel said, joining them. "Senshi Chuleun just asked my men to engage the Gellar sheild from the Engine Room."

"He's lost contact with Seok." Tatsuhiro informed her.

Behind her visor Cáel grimaced. "I was informed he lost eyes on the bridge. I rerouted the signal to the ship's passive computer. There will be a record at least, even if we can't access it."

"Are your men up to the task?" Yemon asked.

"They were delighted to be back in the game. Apparently the xenos are spread thin. They only left an automata in the Engine Room."

"Can your men here protect the recruits?"

Cáel paused, likely assessing her HUD. "I believe so. I already gave the order for O'Mabon to return here once the Gellar shield was up."

"Thoughts, Colonel?" Tatsuhiro prodded.

"Even with the Gellar shield we still are going to have to fight whatever is already on board. And securing the breeched decks will become increasingly important the longer we are inside the Storm."

"We're not in the Storm yet." Yemon rumbled.

"We're in the intertidal zone. Communication with the _Audacious_ is only going to get worst. The Gellar sheild will improve communications, but only inside the ship, and it'll stop weak warpspawn from entering. We are still going to have to contend with the xenos and the big nasties. "

"I thought those were your favorite type." Tatsuhiro teased, to take the edge off.

"They are, but like your man said, we Guard play rough." She grinned, but there was a wolfishness in her expression that Tatsuhiro was positive had nothing to do with the way her visor distorted her features.

"Taisa?" The open vox crackled.

"Go ahead Naoko."

"We have some friendlies, they're asking for escort to the safe hold."

Tatsuhiro watched Cáel's lips moving behind her visor, verifying that they were indeed her men. She made a fist with her hand, the 'all clear' sign.

"Yes, bring them here. When you arrive, we'll depart for the bridge."

* * *

 _ **Short chapter, will post more soon, I hope.**_


End file.
